


Healing of the Heart

by daBOSSz



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, On The Way To A Smile: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Kissing, Awkward Romance, Awkward Tension, Awkwardness, Communication, Communication Failure, Conflict Resolution, Drama, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Family Issues, Fluff and Angst, Healing, Internal Conflict, Lack of Communication, Light Angst, Miscommunication, Nonverbal Communication, Post-Crisis, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26530894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daBOSSz/pseuds/daBOSSz
Summary: Although they both care deeply for one another, it has always been difficult for Cloud and Tifa to open up to each other about how they feel. This story explores the challenges of communication as well as the efforts they put forth to overcome such obstacles. Perhaps when they break down their barriers, they'll finally find what they're seeking.(The most up-to-date version of this story is on Fanfiction.net)
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 14
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy VII and its characters are wholly the properties of Square Enix. This story is not written for profit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Critics of this relationship often point out how incompatible two people are when they constantly struggle to communicate with each other. This story is an attempt to figure out how they might work through such struggles. Hope you enjoy!

From the outside, it looked like a typical weekend family outing: Cloud and Tifa sat on a blanket in a grassy field while Marlene and Denzel played nearby. The two adults were sharing the blanket with the picnic basket they had brought, and four used paper plates surrounded the corners of the basket. They adorned smiles as they watched the children exert their energy into their own creative games.

A few days had passed since he had been cured of Geostigma, and Cloud wanted to make good on his vow to be present in the lives of his family again. He had asked Tifa to close the bar for a day, rescheduled his deliveries, prepared a picnic lunch, and brought his family to this grassy area just outside of Edge for a relaxing day together. On the surface, all seemed to be going well: no one had objected, and everyone had been in the best of spirits since he informed them of his plans.

However, it didn't need to be said that all was not yet fully well. Having left his family for quite some time, Cloud knew that it would take more than just a picnic to mend the fences he had broken. Although he had convinced himself at the time that it was the right decision to make, the fallout that resulted from his absence was significant, and he could only hope that his family remained patient enough for him to convince them that he truly planned on never leaving again.

Complicating matters was the realization that each person would need to have their trust rebuilt individually. Marlene and Denzel were warming up to him quickly, and while Cloud knew they had not fully dismissed the possibility of him leaving a second time, it would only be a matter of time before he would become a permanent fixture in their lives once more. They were the first to jump at the idea of this picnic, and they had already been pleading with him practically every evening to help plan his delivery routes just as they did prior to his departure.

Of course, the biggest challenge would be convincing Tifa. Cloud did not doubt that she was happy to have him back home, but physically being home did not mean they were emotionally close on the same level they had been before Geostigma drove them apart. His decision to leave had strained so much of what they had built up during and after their pursuit of Sephiroth, and although he had every desire of becoming close to her again, he knew Tifa well enough to understand that she would not simply let him in unconditionally.

If he had to draw on some encouragement, at least the few days since he returned home had been nothing but positive. The mood at the church on the day he was cured had carried over into Seventh Heaven that evening with the entire family gathered to share drinks and laughs. His delivery service was back in business thanks in large part to his connections spreading the news, and he had settled back into his old routine in no time at all. He would make sure to call Tifa to notify her of when he would return every day and offer to pick up anything she needed on his way home, and he was always greeted with three warm smiles upon entering Seventh Heaven in the evening. He had yet to start taking jobs that would require him to spend nights away from Seventh Heaven, fully understanding that such deliveries would need to be eased back into his schedule when the time became right.

As encouraging as the first few days had been though, they did deprive him of one major desire: time with Tifa. He needed to talk to her, to open up communication lines with her that consisted of more than just greetings and small talk, but the opportunity had not yet presented itself due to their schedules always appearing to be in conflict. Even with his early returns from his deliveries, he always felt it was essential to spend time with Marlene and Denzel first before they went to bed, and once the children were settled in, he would have to sort through all the logistics of his future deliveries while she would be wrapping up her work at the bar. This would take him longer than it used to, having been away from the routine for a while, so by the time he would be finished with everything, both he and Tifa would be too exhausted to stay awake. Even if one of them was not, they were respectful enough of the other's weariness to not request time for any deep conversations.

Today, however, was different. Today was a day off to enjoy with his family, and Cloud did not want to let it slip by without at least taking a step in the right direction.

"Do you know what they're playing?" Cloud asked, not removing his glance from the children as they chased each other around the field.

"No clue," said Tifa. "It's doesn't look like any game I know."

"Hmm," he mumbled in response.

It was at this moment that an undesired realization kicked in as Cloud found himself yet again stuck and seemingly unable to guide the conversation to where he wanted it to go, and all progress was hampered before he could even begin. Sadly, this was not a new phenomenon; these moments tended to pop up whenever he tried to open up to Tifa, hindering any advancements he would make with her.

* * *

_Five-year-old Cloud clutched his mother's neck while she stood at their fence holding him and conversing with the woman who lived next door. He did not understand anything the adults were talking about, but his mother was not someone who would leave him inside the house alone without supervision, so he would wait patiently for the conversation to end before they went back inside._

_"Mama?" a voice called from behind the woman, and Cloud's attention immediately flew in that direction. Out came Tifa in a frilly pink dress with her big, red eyes looking curiously at her mother and neighbors._

_Cloud did not know why, but his own eyes froze on her, incapable of looking away. He had seen Tifa before—she and her family lived next door after all—but she had never looked this pretty. He instantly felt a tingling sensation in his heart that he could not explain. It was not bad; it was just…funny?_

_"Hi, sweetie!" Tifa's mother beamed. "I'll be right there, okay? I just need to talk with Mrs. Strife."_

_"Okay!" Tifa said cheerfully._

_The little girl was about to head back inside her home when Claudia's voice caught her attention._

_"Tifa, honey, would you like to come over and play with Cloud?" Claudia asked both the girl and her mother._

_"Yeah!" Tifa exclaimed, looking at her mother for permission._

_"Of course, sweetie," came her response. "I'll call you home. Don't leave Cloud's yard, okay?"_

_"Okay, Mama!" Tifa said nodding._

_With that, Tifa trotted around the fence and over to the Strife residence. Claudia set Cloud down, and the two youngsters approached each other._

_"Hi, Cloud!" Tifa greeted with excitement._

_"Hi, Tifa," Cloud responded more reserved._

_"Wanna play hide-n-seek?" she proposed._

_"Uh…sure…" he agreed, still somewhat stuck on his own thoughts about her radiance._

_"Okay, you hide first," she declared, immediately covering her eyes and starting to count._

_Cloud ran off to the other side of his house and hid behind some bushes, believing in his five-year-old mind that there could not possibly be a better hiding spot. His heart was racing, but it was not just from the running, and he still did not understand why. Was it because of Tifa? Did she know some sort of magic spell that made his heart suddenly beat faster?_

_"Found you!" her voice interrupted him from his thoughts, and his eyes darted up to meet her smiling face. "Wow, good spot to hide. Okay, my turn!"_

_Cloud did what he was supposed to, covering his eyes and counting upward as he heard her footsteps grow fainter in the grass. Still though, while he kept saying the numbers, his mind was becoming more and more distracted by his confused thoughts. Why did he unexpectedly find it so difficult to concentrate when playing with Tifa?_

_"Ready or not, here I come!" he declared almost instinctively upon reaching ten._

_He started his search around the outside perimeter of his house but did not find her. He then went to the trees and bushes behind his yard, but she was not hiding there either. Suddenly, a feeling of concern entered his mind. If she was not hiding in the best spots, where could she have gone? Could it be that something happened to her while he was not looking?_

_The longer he thought, the more worried he grew. Tifa had come over to his yard to play, and now she was nowhere to be found in his yard. He was responsible for her well-being, so he needed to find her, but he did not know where to look. He had already checked all of the best hiding spots; where else could she have gone to?_

_He searched around the perimeter and plants again, but had no luck. Now he was close to panicking, and his growing sense of dread had become so overwhelming that he could not even call out her name. Still though, he could not give up. He had to find her!_

_"Cloud!" Tifa's voice interrupted his thoughts again. "Time's up!"_

_He turned around from his place near the bushes to see her standing on the other side of his yard. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to her._

_"Where were you hiding?" he asked._

_"I was right behind your door inside your house," she answered with pride._

_He didn't know what came over him, but in a swift motion, he had her enveloped in a hug._

_"I'm glad you're okay," he managed to say as he let her go somewhat awkwardly._

_"Cloud!" she looked at him with a puzzled expression. "I'm fine, but you didn't find me, so I win this round, right?"_

_"Yeah, you did," he agreed, not caring about the result as much as her safety. "Did you have fun?"_

_"Of course!" she exclaimed._

_That sent another tingling feeling through his body, one he did not understand either. All he knew was that she had fun playing with him, and that felt satisfying enough for now. Maybe he could ask her to be his friend? Then maybe they could play more often._

_"Tifa, sweetie, it's time to come home," her mother called._

_"Aww, I wanted to keep playing too," Tifa slightly grumbled. "Okay, Mama! Sorry, Cloud, but I need to go."_

_Here was his chance to ask if they could be friends or at least if they could play together again, but the words were lodged in his throat. As he found it difficult to say what he wanted, he knew that he had to at least say something before she turned around and walked away, or he would look like a bad kid with no manners._

_"Uh…okay," was all he could manage to utter. "Bye, Tifa."_

_With that, she was off, and he stood there more befuddled than ever by his feelings about what had just transpired._

* * *

Cloud sighed softly to himself as he mentally recalled his first clear conscious memory with Tifa. Little did he know at the time that the events of that day would be a microcosm of his entire relationship with her: he would disappear from her life, she would find him, he would want to speak on a deeper level with her, but hesitation would always seem to stop him.

When it was not a third-party interference, it would be his own mind, convincing him that it was never the right time to bring up certain topics he had to address with her. Currently, he was experiencing another one of these moments: as they watched Marlene and Denzel play, he wanted to apologize to her for his Geostigma departure, for not being honest and letting her in on his condition from the beginning, for making her worry and causing her such grief, for arriving late and failing to protect her from Loz, and for allowing his guilt to consume him. He wanted to thank her for the fiery and motivating speech he desperately needed to hear to rediscover the fighting spirit that he had all but buried, for believing in him when he had lost all belief in himself, and for welcoming him back into their family without restrictions.

There was so much he wanted—nay, needed—to say, but once again, his mind urged him not to bring it up during a moment when they could be interrupted by the children, especially considering how some of the conversations he must have with her could take a significant amount of time to address. Additionally, this was supposed to be a tranquil day off for everyone to enjoy, and he would only sour the mood by launching into topics that, by their very nature, were much more melancholic and serious.

Cloud looked over at Tifa and simply took in some delight in watching her smile while she observed the children play. She noticed his eyes on her and reciprocated his attention, never losing that smile when she did so.

"Thank you for doing this, Cloud," Tifa said softly and sincerely. "This was a very pleasant idea."

"I'm glad you're liking it," Cloud responded.

A comfortable silence found its way in between them as their attention went back to Marlene and Denzel, and Cloud settled on the belief that he had made the right decision. There would indeed be a time to speak more seriously, but not at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of the picnic actually comes from audio that plays at the end of the Japanese version of Advent Children. Cloud can be heard speaking with Barret about closing up shop for a day to treat his family to some R&R, so I decided to start my story here.
> 
> Anyway, there is more to come. Please feel free to let me know what you think. I love hearing from you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, huge thanks to those who read and reviewed the first chapter. It means a lot to see that you are willing to give me feedback. Without further ado, onward to Chapter 2.

It took a moment for Tifa to realize why Cloud had asked her to close the bar for a day, and even when he broke the news to Marlene and Denzel, it had yet to fully hit her that he really was insistent on treating the three of them to a day off. She did not tell him at the time, but she had mostly agreed to his offer because of the excited faces of the children and not as much because she personally thought it would be a good idea so soon.

Of course, that did not mean she did not appreciate his gesture. In fact, she loved that he had taken the initiative to reintegrate himself back into their family, because Tifa herself was not certain just how much she could sway him into doing so. In fact, she was not certain just how much she should try to persuade him at all, because deep down, she feared that any act from her that he could interpret as aggressiveness would drive him away for a second time.

As she sat beside Cloud watching the children play, Tifa found her thoughts drifting toward the moment she had lashed out at him for running away. It was not a moment she was fond of, because she prided herself on keeping her emotions in check for the sake of others, but at that moment, her frustration with his willingness to surrender to his guilt had reached past its tipping point. She felt a snippet of regret as she recalled the way she shot her anger in Cloud's direction while Reno and Rude were still present, not even thinking at the time that embarrassingly chewing him out in front of the two Turks after they helped carry their unconscious bodies back home could have easily driven his broken self beyond the point of no return. Thankfully, that did not happen, but she took no solace in realizing that she was tantalizingly close to possibly losing him for good.

Tifa had to wrestle her mind away from delving too deeply into those thoughts. Whatever could have happened, Cloud had bounced back from that dark moment and found his way into their family again. Additionally, her primary concern in the immediate aftermath of his return—that he would only be physically present instead of actively present—had been dismissed when he proposed this picnic. They were together again, and the least she could do was show her appreciation for their situation.

She saw him turn to face her with a smile, not noticing that she had never dropped her own while they watched Marlene and Denzel play. She tilted her own gaze to meet his eyes.

"Thank you for doing this, Cloud," she said with genuine gratitude. "This was a very pleasant idea."

"I'm glad you're liking it," he responded sincerely.

Tifa knew Cloud had a lot that he wanted to say. She did as well, and it would only be a matter of time before they would need to address what remained unresolved. Despite this, she decided that she would not push him this time, especially not in the same manner that she had pushed him to go rescue Marlene from the remnant trio. If the picnic he had organized was any indication, Tifa had a glimmer of hope that he would approach her when he felt comfortable enough to discuss such matters. In the meantime, she would continue to be the same patient and supportive person she knew how to be.

However, she could not shake the thought that such an approach would never bring about the results she most desired. After all, this was Cloud, and aside from their journey when he took on a personality that was not his own, he had always been aloof and difficult to read.

* * *

_Eight-year-old Tifa sat outside of her Nibelheim home giggling at a joke her friend had just made. She and her three friends Wel, Dan, and Mayday were not doing anything in particular; it was simply another one of their moments when they were having fun just joking around about various topics._

_She was about to respond to the quipping when the door to the Strife home opened, diverting her attention. She saw Cloud walk out slowly toward the water tower at the center of town, seemingly unsure of what exactly he was doing outside. She took a quick glance at her friends, who also had caught sight of him. She knew they were not too fond of him, but that did not mean she shared in their sentiments._

_"Cloud!" Tifa stood up and called to him, waving one arm in an attempt to grab his attention._

_He turned to look at her, and for a brief moment, their eyes locked. There was something intriguing about the way he glanced at her that piqued her curiosity, but she could not explain what it was. Then, just as quickly, he turned away and continued toward the water tower._

_"Hey!" Tifa called back frowning. "Are you ignoring me?"_

_As if he realized his mistake, he looked toward her again. This time, instead of turning away, he slowly walked closer, and Tifa responded by approaching him. A few seconds later, they were near enough for her to see the softness in his blue eyes._

_"Uh…" was all he could mutter before shifting his eyes away from hers seemingly in embarrassment._

_Tifa could not understand why he would not even speak to her, but her eight-year-old mind figured that he might have simply needed something to do to break the ice, so she decided to offer up a suggestion._

_"Hey, how about we go play by the stream?" she said loudly enough for all her friends to hear and started walking in that direction without waiting for an answer._

_"Um…well…" came Cloud's response._

_"Come on, it'll be fun!" she exclaimed, turning around to look at him for a second before continuing to move away._

_"Tifa! Wait!" Wel called after her, getting up and running to her without any regard for Cloud's presence._

_"Tifa!" Dan followed suit._

_"Tifa!" Mayday trailed not too far behind._

_It would not be until they reached the stream that Tifa found out Cloud did not come with her, and she felt somewhat disappointed but not too shocked. She had tried to open up to him, and he had seemingly refused. Her friends, however, could not care less._

_"Stop troubling yourself with him," Wel told her. "He's just a nobody and not worth anyone's time."_

_Still, Tifa remained curious about him throughout the day. Why did he refuse her offer? She thought she had been nice enough, and it was always fun to play at the stream. Did he not like having fun? Did he only look confused coming out of his house but knew all along what he wanted to do? If so, why not tell her?_

_It was not the first time that her next-door neighbor had left her perplexed. In her sporadic moments with him, he had always treated her well, so she refused to embrace the idea that he was not a nice person despite what some of her friends had said about him. Still though, it always seemed like there was a threshold he declined to cross with her. Initially, Tifa thought it was because she kept catching him at the wrong time, but if that was the case, then there never appeared to be a right time._

_Tifa was still so curious about Cloud that, upon bidding her friends farewell and arriving back home, she could not even remember how they had played at the stream._

* * *

As she sat in the passenger seat of their truck on the way back from the picnic, Tifa realized that, in many ways, Cloud was still just as much of a mystery to her now as he had been when she was a child. Her journey with him had certainly forged bonds that they had been denied during their youngest years, and she would forever be grateful that their time in the Lifestream gave her an opportunity to glimpse into his inner psyche, but it always seemed as though she had just begun scratching the surface when it came to grasping a full understanding of Cloud as a whole no matter how deeply she dove. It was why the picnic, when he had initially proposed it, felt like both a surprise and something completely expected.

Trailing deeper into these thoughts, an intriguing question popped up in Tifa's mind: was it this mysteriousness that kept luring her to Cloud? She certainly felt this way as a child, constantly pondering why she could never seem to crack his outer shell despite her best efforts. His declaration of intent to join SOLDIER took her by surprise, and after he had left Nibelheim, she did continuously check for information on his whereabouts. She received another chance to break through the mystery after finding him at the train station, and while she did succeed in helping him separate his confused persona from his real self, that only left her with more questions about who exactly his real self was. In the two years since Meteor, she thought she would finally get the answers she had been seeking, but then he had left the home they had built together just when everything seemed to be swinging upward.

If it was true that the inexplicable was what kept her attached to him, then she could not help but ask herself another question: did she even want to fully figure him out? If she ever reached a time when she knew him inside and out, would that erase any spark she kept hoping to hold onto?

Tifa shook herself from these thoughts before they led her too far into abstract territories. She needed to approach her relationship with Cloud one step at a time without delving into what-if scenarios that were not likely to be realized for years (if ever). Her absolute last desire was to let the what-if deter her from pursuing what could be.

However, that thought just brought up yet another intriguing question: what exactly could she have with Cloud? It certainly did not help that she could not even pinpoint what exactly she had with him at present. He had just returned from—by all definitions of the word—abandoning her and the children. Conventional wisdom would say that she should have moved on from him, even after she found out that he was making strange decisions at the time because he had contracted an illness that everyone thought was terminal. Yet the thought of cutting ties with him had never even once crossed her mind; after all, two years ago, she chose to separate from the rest of their group to care for him even when pushing back doomsday should have been her priority, so her decision to remain with him had already been made. She could not be sure how she would have responded if it turned out that he had left for more sinister reasons, but she was thankful that she never had to entertain such possibilities.

Attempting to take in the scenery on the drive back to Seventh Heaven, Tifa tried her best to put these thoughts on the side for the time being. In the end, she understood that no progress would be made until she and Cloud took some time to communicate in depth, and she did not want her thoughts to drag her into too many rabbit holes.

The drive remained mostly quiet. Marlene and Denzel had fallen asleep in the back seat, likely exhausted from exerting too much energy playing, so out of respect for the two youngsters, Tifa and Cloud only exchanged a few minor comments. She mostly let him concentrate on driving, knowing that staying focused while sitting at the wheel always helped prevent him from getting motion sickness.

It was mid-afternoon by the time they returned to Seventh Heaven. The children stirred groggily when the truck stopped, and seeing as how the arrival home had interrupted their naps, Tifa and Cloud helped Marlene and Denzel upstairs to their room and lay them on their beds, urging them to continue resting until they recovered their energy (even if it meant a later bedtime that evening). Denzel had no problems falling back asleep, so Cloud was out of the room rather quickly. Marlene took a little while longer, but fatigue ultimately was too much for her to fight off.

Tifa stepped into the hallway and partially closed the door, always remembering to leave it ajar to better hear any noise coming from the children's room. She then made her way downstairs to the bar, where she was greeted by Cloud's eyes the moment she reached the bottom step. He did not need to say it; one look in his direction told her all she needed to know.

"Teef, let's talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is curious, the three Nibelheim boys' names were Wel, Dan, and Mayday according to Tifa's diary, which was originally supposed to be in the game but ultimately got cut. I want to thank fellow author [Senigata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Senigata/pseuds/Senigata) for this piece of information, which is also written on the Final Fantasy Wiki page for Nibelheim.
> 
> Also, if you've played Remake and paid attention to the cutscenes, I'll bet you definitely know which scenes the flashback is based on.
> 
> What did you think of Chapter 2? Please feel free to leave any comments you may have. As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. Your feedback means a lot to me. Now, without further ado, here's Chapter 3.

To be completely honest, Cloud did not know if he would ever be ready for the serious conversation that he needed to have with Tifa. However, available time for such a conversation was limited, and the longer he postponed it, the greater the tension would build. What had to be said would not all be addressed in one fell swoop, but at the very least, it was a chance for progress.

"Teef, let's talk," he said as soon as she came downstairs.

Instantly, he regretting his choice of words. As softly as he had said them, he still worried that they came across as a command instead of an offer. At the very least, he could have asked her if they could talk. It would have been even more polite to ask if she had time to talk or wanted to at that moment, even though he already knew the answer to that question.

It was ridiculous to him that he had already begun thinking about how he had messed up before she had even sat down. He had wanted to start their conversation positively, but instead, he did not even initiate it the way he had hoped to.

"Stop," his mind whispered to him before he got too carried away. "Stop overthinking everything. Just talk to her. This is Tifa, not some stranger you just met. Your chance to make a decent first impression with her has long passed."

Cloud mentally steeled himself as Tifa took her seat across the table from him. He looked up to meet her gentle eyes and a smile that told him she would be open and supportive to his words. He took a deep breath.

"Teef, I want to thank you," he began. "Thank you for welcoming me back home."

"You don't need to thank me, Cloud," she responded. "We built this home together. You'll always be a part of it."

He expected her to say something similar, given how caring she had always been to him. However, such a response left the ball in his court again, and it was up to him to come up with the next words. He chose to stay gratifying.

"You did more than that though," he said. "You reminded me of who I was."

He wanted to say more, but chose to spare the details at this moment. The last time he had opened up to her about his unworthiness, she had accused him of dragging an unnecessary issue.

"How did you forget though?" Tifa asked with a tone that reflected curiosity rather than judgment.

Cloud looked away from her slightly, feeling shameful. He knew this question—or a variation of it—would be coming, and he had no idea how thorough he would need to be in his answer to satisfy her. Part of him feared that pouring his entire heart out to her right then and there would frighten her and drive another wedge between them when he was working so fiercely to remove the wedges that already separated them. Another part of him believed that she should not be burdened with details at all, because no matter what she may say, this was still his own problem that he needed to resolve internally—at least before letting her in on it.

"Too many reasons," was all he wound up saying initially.

He looked up at her, and one slight movement of her eyes was enough to signal to him that she wanted to hear more.

"What were they?" she asked him.

Cloud did not know how to begin. Once more, the desire to let her know how undeserving he felt ran through his mind, but he was already determined not to come across to her as asking for pity. He decided to take a slightly explanatory approach while minimizing the accounts of his own internal struggles.

"I actually found out I had Geostigma shortly before I brought Denzel home," he said. "It wasn't serious at the time, and I was still hopeful that a cure could be discovered."

"You had it that soon?" Tifa asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, I did," Cloud confirmed. "It was nothing compared with Denzel though; his was already severe. I searched constantly for something that could cure him during my deliveries."

"Were you able to at least find anything?" she questioned.

Cloud closed his eyes briefly, feeling some weight being placed back on his shoulders from her question. It certainly was not her intention to make him feel awful for failing to find anything, but his guilty conscience could not help itself.

"No, I wasn't," he answered honestly. "I let him down. At the same time, mine was getting worse."

He took his eyes off her. He could not look at her, knowing he was about to recall the decision he made that could have destroyed their entire relationship.

"The longer I went without finding anything, the more I realized that he would become another life I wouldn't be able to save," Cloud continued, trying hard not to bring too much of his guilt into the tone he was using. "Knowing I was done for didn't help. Eventually, I simply decided that this was my just punishment for all of my past failures."

A short silence fell between them, and he did not need to peer in her direction to know that she was contemplating how to take in all of this information. He was expecting her to ask him why he decided to leave, but she chose a different question instead.

"Why did you pretend like everything was okay?" she asked. "I even thought you were getting better after our conversation just days before."

He knew the conversation she was referring to. She had asked him if he had resolved his problem, to which he answered negatively. He revealed he had visited Aerith's church when he had brought Denzel home, and she had asked that they go together next time. It ended with a mutual understanding and what she thought at the time was a genuine shared smile. A few days later, he was gone.

"I didn't want the last impression you had of me to be a dying man," he explained.

"But by leaving, my last impression of you would have been a man who abandoned his family," she stated the obvious, and he could hear the disappointment in her voice through her sympathy.

"Yeah, looking back, it was a stupid reason," he finally admitted.

"And you ran off to Aerith's church of all places," she followed.

There were the words he knew she would bring up. It had been no secret that, during their travels, Tifa had felt jealous at times about Aerith's forwardness toward him. Although she and Aerith had forged a strong friendship, there was no doubt that Tifa had interpreted some of the flower girl's conduct as overtly flirtatious. Even after her passing, Cloud knew that heading to the church without Tifa's knowledge could and probably was viewed by Tifa as a sign that he did not always prioritize his bond with his childhood friend.

However, unlike discussing the reasons for his departure, Cloud did not hesitate to explain his reasons for going to her church.

"I wanted her forgiveness," he said without any hint in his voice that would suggest he was hiding something. "I felt like I had failed to protect her after she entrusted me to be her bodyguard."

He looked back up at Tifa's expression, hoping that he was convincing enough through his honesty. He knew it was unlikely that she would buy his explanation fully, but at the very least, he was wishing for some type of realization that his decision was due to his guilt and not a desire for comfort from their deceased friend instead of her. He was encouraged when she gave him a slight smile and nod.

"I'm sorry, Tifa," he apologized for the first time in their conversation. "I should have told you about my condition."

"Why didn't you?" she questioned.

"It didn't feel right to burden you with my problems," he rationalized. "I felt like this was a personal matter and that it would be wrong to get you involved."

Another moment of silence fell between the two of them, although they did not take their eyes off each other. He read her expression and sensed that she instinctively wanted to remind him of what he constantly seemed to forget: that they were family and that they should always be involved in each other's struggles. However, she chose to hold her tongue.

"Would you still not get me involved now?" Tifa asked alternatively, breaking the silence before their eye contact lasted too long.

"I wouldn't feel good about troubling you with my problems, but I would talk to you now," Cloud answered with utmost sincerity.

"That's good to hear," she responded, although he was not certain that she fully believed him so quickly.

He knew he would not solve her uncertainty with one line, but he still felt like he had to let her know so that it would at least be out there.

"Tifa, I'm done running away," he declared.

"How do I know this for sure?" she asked, looking at him with a slight expression of suspicion.

"Because when I ran away, I made everything worse for everyone, especially you and the kids," he replied. "I would never want to worsen things for you again. I know you won't believe me immediately, but I'm willing to work to show you."

He did not mention the misery that he found himself surrounded by when he ran away, but he would sound completely selfish if he brought it up now with her.

* * *

_It had only been one day since he set himself up inside Aerith's church, one day since he built his makeshift camp that did not even look anything close to a camp. He had come to seek her out, to somehow find the strength to ask her to forgive him for arriving too late to save her. Instead, his focus refused to shift from the family—or more specifically, the one—he had left behind._

_He had repeatedly convinced himself that this was the best decision he could make given his current condition. He left on a somewhat encouraging note; he believed that the smile he had shown her would be the last memory she would have of him, a smile that would at least put her at ease knowing he was at peace with his choice to accept the fate that awaited him._

_He could not stand the thought of confronting her with his condition, especially after he assured her that he would always be there to remind her of who she was if she ever forgot. Letting her know that his days were numbered would only be an admission of a declaration that he could never fulfill, and he would rather die with some dignity than have her share in his hurt._

_Yet only one day into his self-imposed exile, his thoughts would not stop lingering on the girl who grew up next door. She had done more for him than he could have ever asked anyone to do: finding him tattered at the train station, nursing him back into fighting condition, holding onto hope that he was the same person she remembered despite all evidence to the contrary, caring for him full-time when both he and the planet seemed lost, diving into his subconscious and saving him from his own shattered mind, building a new home both with and for him, and forging him a new career that suited him so well. In the end, despite all she had done, he chose to part from her._

_He knew that if he were to truly die in peace, he had to take his mind off Tifa. That would mean he could not answer any of her calls, regardless of how desperate he would be to hear her voice and reassure her that he was fine. He needed to continue busying himself with his deliveries, maybe even accepting an odd job on occasion._

_Over the next few weeks, he tried his best to keep himself occupied with other tasks. He ran his delivery service as usual. He sometimes rode out into the wastelands to slay a few beasts. Despite all hope seemingly lost, he continued to search for something that would heal Denzel, following up on rumor after rumor even though he was always hitting dead ends. He would return every day to the church, hoping that Aerith would grant him the forgiveness that he sought so that he could at least find some sort of peace before he joined the Lifestream._

_It turned out to be fruitless. He could not forget her. She was not just in his mind; she had buried herself too deeply into his heart and soul, and no amount of work could exorcise her from him._

_He continued to convince himself that he had made the right decision, even though he knew within his heart—the same heart that found it impossible to let Tifa go—that it had been a mistake. It would not be until he found Tifa injured and unconscious in the church's flower bed that he realized the actual gravity of his misjudgment._

* * *

It was a painful chapter of his life, and he was thankful that it would no longer be his last chapter. His renewed vigor was genuine, and he would not allow himself to continue wallowing in the past while losing himself to his memories. He just hoped that Tifa would be able to see this part of him sooner or later.

"Tifa," Cloud continued, looking at her directly in her eyes, "you, Marlene, and Denzel are always rescuing me. I've been protected this entire time. It's about time for me to return the favor."

He had said those same words when he brought Marlene back from the remnant trio, and he felt that Tifa had the right to hear them as well. He knew it would take much more to fully win back her trust, but he had to begin with this declaration.

To his relief, she gave him a satisfying smile.

"I forgive you, Cloud," she responded. "I want to better understand what you went through. Will you let me?"

"Absolutely," he answered without hesitation.

For the next few seconds, the two simply looked at each other in silence, widening their smiles as they enjoyed each other's presence without the need to speak a single word. Having made some progress, the moment did not feel awkward at all, and there was a mutual understanding that the healing process had begun.

"I think I'll go start dinner," Tifa finally spoke. "You have deliveries tomorrow too, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," Cloud acknowledged. "I should get some work done."

As he got up, another idea crossed Cloud's mind. A small part of him was reluctant to bring it up so soon, but the more dominant part of him was now planning ahead to the next step in their healing process.

"Hey, Tifa?" he asked, diverting her attention back to him as she was walking toward the kitchen. "I was thinking: how about we do something again this time next week?"

"Hmm…what did you have in mind?" she wondered.

"Well, remember what you proposed after my first mission for AVALANCHE?" he hinted, and her eyes immediately grew wider. "That thing we weren't able to do?"

"You mean…" came her response.

"Yeah," he confirmed with a wide smile. "I mean that. Let's get dressed up and hit the town. Just the two of us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, I actually don't feel like I write dialogue very well. Hopefully, the dialogue here is at least decent.
> 
> As for Advent Children references, I always try to stick to the Japanese script instead of the English dub. In my head canon, nobody never says "dilly-dally-shilly-shally" (in Japanese, it's "drag, drag"), and Tifa asks Cloud if they'd lost themselves to their memories instead of choosing between "a memory or us."
> 
> Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Please feel free to share them. As always, I love hearing from you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to give a huge shout out to all the members of the Final Heaven server on Discord, many of whom have read and commented on my stories. Being someone who is relatively new to the Final Fantasy VII fandom, you all have just been unbelievably welcoming and supportive, so thank you for your warmth and encouragement!
> 
> Of course, I also have to thank everyone else who has been following along with this and other stories I've written so far. Your feedback means so much to me, so thank you all! Now, onward to Chapter 4.

"Let's dress up and hit the town."

Those were her words once upon a time. She had initially suggested the activity on a whim, trying to break some of the awkwardness that had crept into their conversation when he swung by her old apartment at Stargazer Heights. She really had not planned anything specific for what hitting the town would have looked like, even asking him to pick an outfit for her, but her hope was that by having him accompany her for a leisurely night out, she would potentially be able to break down the new walls he had seemingly put up and finally learn more about the man behind the rough exterior. Tragically, Shinra made sure their night was not to be, destroying thousands of innocent lives in a traumatic moment that still haunted her memories.

Now, here they were, over two years since that moment, and he had been the one to make the offer this time. She accepted it immediately, partially out of appreciation for his willingness to open up about his departure, but mostly because she simply wanted to finally enjoy some time alone with him. Between working for AVALANCHE, running around to save the world, and rebuilding their lives afterward, they never had much time to relax together, and she was glad that he recognized the moment had finally come to do so.

It had already been a few days since they talked, and Tifa found herself in a much better mood than she had been in quite a while. She would never openly admit it to anyone, but the anticipation of finding out what exactly he had planned for their evening out on the town was exciting her in ways that she could not describe.

She was so caught up in her newfound positivity that she did not even notice Marlene entering the bar area until the six-year-old took a seat atop one of the stools.

"Hey, Marlene! Back early?" Tifa asked without masking her cheeriness.

"Yeah, Betty had to go home," Marlene informed.

"What about Denzel?" Tifa followed up.

"He's still with M.G.," Marlene answered, and Tifa internally chuckled at the fitting initials Denzel's new friend just so happened to go by.

"Are you thirsty?" Tifa said, readying a glass to fill with water.

"Yeah, I am," Marlene replied. "I could use a glass of water."

"Way ahead of you," Tifa declared as she filled the glass and placed it in front of the girl.

Marlene took the glass and gulped down a quarter of it in one breath.

"Hey, Tifa?" she spoke. "Why are you so happy this week?"

Tifa smiled a bit at Marlene, knowing fully well that the young girl's sharp perceptiveness picked up on everything.

"I'm just glad that our family is whole again," Tifa responded.

"We were already whole last week after Cloud came back," Marlene pointed out. "But you weren't this happy."

Tifa walked around the bar and up to Marlene, facing her so that no barriers existed between them.

"Cloud and I had a very nice talk," she informed the girl. "He told me he won't run away again, and that he'll be the one rescuing us from now on."

Marlene grinned wider at hearing those words.

"Oh, he told me that too," she said. "When he brought me back home, he said it's his turn to take care of us now."

Tifa's smile broadened. Marlene did not have to tell her the whole story for her to know that Cloud's words were not the only lines exchanged between the him and the six-year-old. She had always suspected that Marlene played a major role in finally convincing Cloud to rediscover the hero he had always been, and now she had verification that her suspicions were correct.

"Did he tell you why he left?" Marlene asked out of curiosity.

Tifa paused slightly for a moment and realized that he actually had not. Despite their entire conversation being about his departure, she never asked him directly why he left. She asked him why he pretended he was all right and why he settled inside the church, and he had told her that he did not want to leave a negative last impression, but he never directly informed her of his exact reasons for leaving.

"Actually, I don't think he did," Tifa answered.

"He wanted to keep finding a cure for Denzel," Marlene informed. "I saw the papers on his desk. Cloud was searching everywhere."

"Really?" Tifa responded. "I'll have to ask him about that."

Part of her was not surprised, because she knew Cloud was a selfless man. However, discovering this now added another layer to the muddled-up picture that they were still trying to make clearer. If he left for Denzel's sake, then why did he not tell her? Was it because it may have forced him to reveal his own Geostigma to her?

After a moment of thinking, Tifa decided to put her questions aside for the moment. It was simply another piece of the mysterious puzzle known as Cloud Strife that she would need to figure out how to assemble in a way that would make more sense.

"Hey, Tifa?" Marlene's sweet voice interrupted her from her thoughts. "I'm glad our family's whole again too, and I'm glad to see you so happy again."

Hearing those words from Marlene, Tifa could not help but envelop the girl in a loving embrace. In all her years since leaving Nibelheim, no single person had been as large of a beacon for positivity and wisdom as Marlene. She could still remember how frightened the young girl had been upon first seeing Cloud, and yet despite not being around him for very long in the two years since their initial meeting, Marlene had already warmed up to him enough to consider him family.

Marlene finished her water and decided to head upstairs and read her books, leaving Tifa alone at the bar to prepare for the evening rush. As she watched the little girl scamper up, Tifa wondered if Marlene knew just how significant of a role she was actively playing in her and Cloud's healing process.

* * *

_A twinge of disappointment dotted Tifa's face briefly when the call to Cloud's phone once again went unanswered. She should be used to this by now, having not heard a word from him in forever, but it still hurt every time. Once the beep sounded, she left her message._

_"Cloud, Reno made a call from Healen. He says he's got work for you," Tifa spoke into his voicemail box. She took a brief pause before saying her next words. "Cloud, how have you been?"_

_She waited a few seconds, then hung up the call. She tried to make her voice sound cheerful when it was heard, but she did not doubt that a trained ear like Cloud's would pick up on her downcast tone._

_In the other room, Marlene was watching over Denzel. Every day, the young boy would ask no one in particular where his hero had disappeared to. Tifa wanted answers as much as Denzel did, but the only person who could provide them was nowhere to be seen._

_Tifa stood still for a few minutes in Cloud's office, looking over the materials on his desk without really paying any attention to what was written on them. Her ability to focus was dwindling by the day as thoughts of Cloud's fate refused to stop running through her mind. The mood at Seventh Heaven continued to grow more and more melancholic with Cloud not there, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a positive façade during business hours._

_"Tifa?" Marlene called from behind her. "Denzel is asleep now."_

_Tifa turned around to acknowledge the girl whom she had practically raised as her own daughter, forcing a smile._

_"Thank you, Marlene," she said. "Do you want to come to the market with me while he rests?"_

_"No," Marlene replied, surprising the barmaid. "Tifa, I miss Cloud."_

_Tifa's head tilted down slightly and her smile faded, unable to sustain itself at the little girl's mention of his name._

_"I do too, Marlene," she acknowledged. "I miss him every day."_

_"Then why are we just waiting here for him to come home?" Marlene asked. "Why don't we go look for him ourselves?"_

_Tifa paused and thought about Marlene's suggestion. Initially, she wanted to respond with "because we don't know where he ran off to" or "because we don't know where to start," but was that really the truth? Did they stay passive due to lack of knowledge regarding his whereabouts, or did they do so because she felt that, since he was the one who made the choice to leave, he should be the one to decide when he would come home? Was it nothing more than stubborn pride that held her back, or could it be that she was still latching onto some distant sense of hope that he would actually see the light and return?_

_Plus, it was not as though she had not been searching, right? She continued to hear word from her customers that he was out there doing his deliveries, so she would keep an eye out for him every time she left the bar to shop for supplies. Did that not count as searching?_

_The more Tifa thought, the more she realized that she had no legitimate reasons to continue remaining passive and hoping for the best. Cloud had been gone for far too long, and it was clear that he would not return without a more decisive move on her end. It may not work, but at least they had to try._

_She looked back at Marlene and allowed her smile to return._

_"Okay, let's go look for Cloud," she finally agreed. "We'll stop by the market on the way back to pick up the supplies we need."_

_For the first time that day, Marlene returned her smile as she nodded her head._

_After checking in on Denzel one last time, Tifa took the little girl's hand and headed out from Seventh Heaven. Based on the information she heard from her customers about where Cloud was being commonly sighted, Tifa had an idea of where they should start looking, but her heart did not want to acknowledge the possibility that he could have chosen to move there of all places._

_Turning toward the ruins of Midgar, Tifa led Marlene down the path in the direction of the Sector 5 church._

* * *

In hindsight, Tifa should have known that Cloud was at the church and found him much sooner than she did. All of the clues pointed in that direction: he was still being sighted in the Midgar-Edge area, he was not close enough in to anyone else in town to move in with them, he had been showing clear and obvious signs of having his guilt weigh him down long before his departure, and he specifically mentioned the inability to reclaim lost lives as what was bothering him when she asked him about the problem he had been dealing with.

Whatever her reasons were to wait for his return no longer mattered, because in the end, it was Marlene whose suggestion ultimately pushed her to start actively searching for him. While the events that occurred at the church were not ones she would ever want to relive—having been defeated by Loz and watching Marlene get kidnapped—Cloud would not have found her there at all had Marlene not offered to search for him in the first place.

Now, with Marlene revealing her discovery of why Cloud actually left, Tifa recognized that her entire perception of Cloud's departure could possibly be changed when this saga ended. Of course, she would still need answers directly from him—which she would get in due time—and she doubted that she would ever see his reasoning as a justifiable excuse for abandoning his family, but at the very least, it would bring a whole new perspective into the matter.

Tifa softly chuckled to herself when she realized that she had once again been outsmarted by Marlene. While the barmaid was letting her own emotions blur her from the evidence that was sitting atop Cloud's desk the whole time, Marlene had dug it up and pieced it all together. The girl continued to repeatedly prove that she was wise beyond her years.

* * *

The next few days passed by rather uneventfully, much to the delight of everyone. After years of major conflicts and turmoil both externally and from within, experiencing a series or normal days when nothing more than the usual happened was a relief in and of itself. Cloud continued to return home every evening, although he did inform Tifa and the children that he would restart his longer deliveries soon to earn more money for the family.

The day of her date with Cloud soon arrived. Cloud did not reveal much, but he did assure her that he had taken care of all the planning. That was evident earlier in the day when Barret showed up, letting her know that Cloud had requested his babysitting services. Needless to say, his presence excited both Marlene and Denzel, who had not climbed off of the big man since his arrival.

Tifa gave herself one final look in the mirror, satisfied with the results of her dolled-up appearance. She decided in the end to wear the same purple dress that she had worn to infiltrate Don Corneo's mansion, although it was technically a duplicate that she had to repurchase after the old one was lost in the destruction of Sector 7. While the dress did bring back some painful memories, she thought that finally putting it on for its original, intended purpose instead of an undercover mission would be another way to at least partially heal some old wounds. Plus, the entire evening was to be a refreshing event itself; just two weeks prior, the idea that she would ever be able to experience a normal night out with the man who held her heart was as distant as the stars in the night sky, but now, here they were.

Tifa exited her bedroom and walked down to the bar, where she was instantly greeted by three pairs of stunned eyes. It took a few seconds for her to remember that none of them had ever seen her in this dress, since she had actually snuck out that night to find Corneo without telling Barret or Marlene.

"Tifa!" Denzel was the first to exclaim. "Wow, you look amazing!"

"Yeah, Tifa, you look so beautiful!" Marlene followed him.

"Man, Cloud would be crazy if he doesn't fall for you tonight!" Barret declared.

Tifa knew the gun-armed man wanted to say something more brazen but held his tongue in front of the children. She gave the three of them a warm smile of appreciation.

"Thank you all," she said. "Is Cloud not here yet?"

"No, he's still getting ready," Denzel informed.

"C'mon, what kind of guy takes longer to get ready than his girl?" Barret asked rhetorically. "He's lucky you're a patient one, or he would've been dumped years ago!"

Tifa could not help but giggle at Barret's comment.

"Denzel, let that be a lesson to you," Barret said, facing the boy. "When you start datin', don't be like Cloud and make your girl wait, or soon enough, you won't have a girl at all."

"Ew, Barret, I'm not going to date!" Denzel responded in typical nine-year-old fashion.

"But you're already dating M.G.," Marlene teased.

"I am not!" Denzel instantly exclaimed.

Marlene immediately made a kissy-face to further push her luck.

"You take that back!" Denzel called out, reaching to tickle her.

Marlene slipped away easily before Denzel could grab her. Barret and Tifa, too entertained to act, simply laughed and watched as Denzel started chasing Marlene around the bar. Marlene reached the steps and was about to head upstairs but stopped immediately when she looked up and saw the sight in front of her.

Cloud descended slowly, adjusting his dress shirt as he did so. Upon arriving at the bottom of the stairs, his own eyes froze at the sight of Tifa, displaying a look of stunned silence that the barmaid shared. For a few seconds, all five individuals simply held their ground and stared at each other, exchanging no words.

Tifa had to do a double-take to convince herself that what she was seeing was real. There was Cloud, dressed in a white shirt with a navy-blue vest over it, black dress pants, and black loafers. Having never seen him in such formal clothes, Tifa needed to pick her jaw up off the floor to regain her composure.

"Cloud…" she finally managed to say. "You look…"

She could not finish her compliment, unable to find the right word to express her disbelief. She saw a tint of red appear on his face, but chose not to tease him about it in front of the others.

"Tifa's right," Barret chimed in. "You definitely look nice. Heck, if you keep looking like that, I might have to start actually liking you."

"Thanks, Tifa," Cloud responded, playfully smirking at Barret to let the older man know that he was purposely not going to verbally acknowledge him. "You look gorgeous too."

Tifa's heart skipped a beat when she heard his compliment. She wanted to run up and hug him, but kept her emotions in check as she turned her attention back to the children.

"All right, we're heading out," she said. "You two be nice to Barret, okay?"

"Always," Denzel answered.

"Nah!" Marlene contrasted, which earned her a chuckle from all three adults.

"You guys just go and have fun," Barret instructed. "This planet knows you've earned it."

Both Tifa and Cloud said their thanks and good-byes as they headed out from the bar toward the garage. Tifa waited while Cloud pulled Fenrir out and climbed aboard, then took her seat behind him.

"It's been awhile since I rode this," she remarked, looking over his shoulder beaming brightly.

"There'll always be a seat for you here," Cloud responded, glancing back and returning her smile. "Ready?"

"Ready," she answered, looping her arms around his waist.

Cloud cranked the bike's engine, and seconds later, the two were heading away from Seventh Heaven. Tifa relaxed into the ride, closing her eyes and leaning her head down on his back to simply enjoy the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't obvious, the flashback scene is set during Advent Children between Reno's phone call to Strife Delivery Service (that Tifa answers) and the moment when Tifa and Marlene enter Aerith's church. Of course, I had to find ways to give Marlene and Denzel some active roles in helping with the healing process, since both of them are vital to Cloud and Tifa's story. Also, I decided not to give Moogle Girl a name and just go by the initials M.G. for convenience.
> 
> As always, please feel free to leave me any feedback you may have. See you next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time for these two to have their long-overdue night out. Enjoy the chapter!

Cloud had missed the feeling of Tifa riding Fenrir with him more than he would ever admit. Aside from their fight against Bahamut SIN, which did not count in the same manner because they were in the middle of a crisis, she had only done it a few times when they ran errands together. He was always warm from head to toe when she would make herself comfortable in the back seat, clutch him around the waist, and lean against his back. Now, experiencing it again for the first time in ages, Cloud was reminded once more of just how blessed he was to have her present in his life.

It always amazed Cloud how Tifa could make him feel so beloved through any of her routine gestures. Her smile was the most obvious, but there was also the way she would serve him his food and drinks or simply check up on him in his office when he was buried in his paperwork. Of course, the moments when physical contact with her would be involved, such as this one on Fenrir, were the ones he appreciated more; her gentle touch was often enough to calm him from whatever burdens may be weighing him down.

The more he thought about how incredible Tifa had treated him, the guiltier he felt about his decision to leave her behind. If there was one person on the planet who did not deserve to be abandoned, it was the selfless soul known as Tifa Lockhart, and yet he had actually done it for reasons that made less sense by the day.

It was almost disappointing when they arrived at their destination and Tifa lifted herself from his back, removing her warmth from him. However, Cloud took some solace in the realization that, barring a complete disaster that nobody could foresee, Tifa would ride back to Seventh Heaven with him when the night ended.

She got off Fenrir and straightened her dress while he did the same with his pants. Her eyes then shifted to the large sign above the doorway of the building.

"Chez Gourmet," she read out loud. "Cloud, what is this place?"

"Edge's first high-end restaurant," he answered. "It actually just opened a little over a week ago."

He let her take a quick visual scan of the two-floor restaurant before offering her his hand. She gladly took it, and they walked up to and through the door into a packed house where a young woman greeted them.

"Hello there, how many?" she asked pleasantly.

"I have a reservation," Cloud answered. "Strife, party of two."

"Ah, yes, of course," the woman responded. "Right this way."

She grabbed two menus and headed toward the stairs in the back with Cloud and Tifa following not too far behind. She led them up to the top floor where a grand piano was placed adjacent to the back wall. They went around the instrument and through the crowded tables until they reached the window directly above the restaurant's entrance, where she removed the "reserved" sign from the table in the center.

"Here you are, Mr. Strife," she announced, placing the menus down. "Your server will be with you shortly."

"Thank you," Cloud responded with Tifa following suit before the two of them sat down across from each other.

They each picked up a menu and began glancing over the items. Cloud zeroed in on a few, but his mind was mostly focused on Tifa. It was difficult to read her while she was browsing over the menu, and he started feeling slightly nervous about what her thoughts were so far. He knew she was the type of person who enjoyed these types of experiences, but even when he was planning this evening, he worried that it might be too much, too soon. He wanted to treat her to what he believed she deserved, but he also feared he may not have taken her current comfort level with him into consideration.

"Cloud?" Tifa's voice interrupted him from his thoughts before they took him too far into uncertain territories. "How do you know about this place?"

Thankfully, that was a question he could comfortably answer.

"The owner is a client of mine," he said. "I actually helped him with quite a few deliveries in preparation for the opening of this place."

"Oh, so you already saw this place a few times before it opened," she recognized.

"Yeah, and once after," he added. "I delivered a shipment here this past week."

Right as he finished his sentence, a young man walked up to their table and asked them for drink orders. Tifa did not hesitate to choose red wine, while Cloud abstained from alcohol and simply requested some cider, knowing he would be driving. A few minutes later, their server returned with their beverages and took down their orders. Tifa initially only asked for a main course, but Cloud ordered them an appetizer and dessert to share.

"This is so nice, Cloud," Tifa commented once their server departed. "Thank you for bringing me here."

Cloud felt a wave of relief wash over him upon hearing her words. At the very least, he had not screwed up so far.

"I'm glad you agreed to come," he responded.

A brief silence fell between them, although anyone in the building would not have known given the amount of noise originating from the other tables. Cloud watched Tifa's eyes scan the room more thoroughly, trying to pick up on as many details as she could. It did not surprise him at all; Tifa had always been more observant than him and paid much better attention to the specifics.

"Hey, Cloud?" she spoke up after a few seconds. "Do you know what the piano is for?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure," he replied. "The owner mentioned in passing that he wants there to be live music played here, but he didn't say how often it would happen."

"Hmm, well I hope they play some," she remarked. "Live music with dinner would be really nice."

"Yeah, I know how much you enjoy that sort of thing," he followed up, forming a small smile in her direction.

"You know me well," she said and raised her wine glass. "To us."

"To us," he responded, toasting her and taking a sip of his cider.

A small memory flashed in his mind, and he had to ask the question that came from it.

"Hey, Tifa?" he spoke. "Do you still remember how to play the piano?"

She thought for a moment before answering.

"I think so," she said. "I doubt I'm any good anymore. It's been too long."

"I always enjoyed hearing you play from my window," he admitted, causing her to blush.

"Wait, you were listening?" Tifa asked, unaware of this part of their childhood.

"Of course," Cloud answered without telling her just how _much_ he loved it when she played.

* * *

_It only took a few notes for young Cloud to fall in love with the melody he was hearing. He did not recognize the song—although in his defense, he was only seven-years-old—but the fact that it was coming from the house next door was all he needed to feel the hymn's emotional touch._

_Instantly, he dropped what he was doing at the moment and headed outside, not bothering to tell his mother why. He had to take a peek at where exactly the music was coming from, and more importantly, if his suspicion of who it was coming from was correct._

_As he stopped in front of Tifa's house, he saw that her window was down, allowing the sounds of her piano to flow rhythmically out into the Nibelheim air. A quick look inside told him that he was right: it was Tifa at the piano, calmly pressing her fingers to the keys and producing the soul-soothing music that had captivated his attention._

_"Good, honey, you're getting the right notes down," he heard the voice of Tifa's mother sitting beside the girl. "Now, try your best to play them in rhythm."_

_Cloud did not understand what her mother meant by that remark. How was Tifa not in rhythm? The music she had just played could not possibly have sounded more perfect to his untrained ears._

_However, when Tifa retried the song, it came out even better than the first time. Standing outside of her house, all Cloud could do was ponder how it was possible to improve on perfection. He was so touched by the amazing melody that Tifa was producing that he almost found himself lost in a trance. What kind of magic did Tifa know that made whatever she created sound so heavenly?_

_As she finished playing again, Cloud desperately wanted to knock on her door and ask her a million questions about how she could make such incredible music. More than that, he wanted to dote her with praises for how her piano skills had him feeling as though he was walking on air. Yet once again, instead of acting on his desires, he found himself rooted to the spot, unable to discover the confidence he hopelessly wished he possessed that would finally push him into initiating a conversation with Tifa._

_Failing to understand why he constantly froze whenever he wanted to bridge the gap between himself and the girl next door, all Cloud could do was take in the melody of another song from Tifa's piano. When it finished, he begrudgingly dragged himself back home, mentally kicking himself once more for his own inhibition._

* * *

"Every time I heard you, I thought you played beautifully," he finally gave her the compliment he had always wanted to during his younger years, although he simply left it at that instead of expanding on the emotional impact her piano had on him.

"Cloud!" she softly exclaimed. "I wasn't that good."

"You could've fooled me," he remarked, deepening the red on her cheeks.

"Oh, stop it," she playfully commanded. "You keep this up and I'll feel too embarrassed to look at you."

He wanted to tease her further, but chose not to push his luck. It was at this moment that the server brought them the shared salad that Cloud had ordered as their appetizer, and for the next few minutes, they ate in comfortable silence. Being two well-trained athletic figures, it did not take long for them to finish the entire bowl. The server returned shortly after to take away their used dinnerware and replace them with clean ones, refilling their beverage glasses in the process.

When he left once more, Cloud noticed someone approaching the piano. The individual turned on the microphone placed atop the instrument and spoke.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and sorry to keep you waiting," the gentleman said. "Please continue to enjoy your meals to some soothing classical tunes played by yours truly."

Half the restaurant was too absorbed in their own conversations to even bother listening to the man, but unsurprising to Cloud, he had caught Tifa's attention instantly. When he started playing, Cloud watched as Tifa's face lit up with delight.

"Just in time," Cloud commented to no one in particular.

"Oh, my goodness," Tifa remarked. "This is one of my favorite pieces! I haven't heard this played in forever!"

Cloud, not being as musically savvy as Tifa, did not recognize the piece, but seeing as how she loved it, he decided not to engage her in conversation and simply let her enjoy the music.

The server brought them their main courses while the piece was playing, and Cloud knew he had made the correct decision when he noticed that Tifa did not touch her plate until the piece was over. A few in the audience gave the pianist a round of applause with Tifa joining them, although he doubted the gentleman could hear her claps from across the large room.

"You really wanted to dance to that, didn't you?" Cloud asked once the applause had died down.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't," Tifa answered. "It's such a beautiful piece of work."

They started on their food when the pianist moved onto his next piece, although they would pause every once in awhile to simply soak in the music. If Cloud was honest, he really did not care too much about the songs being played, because watching Tifa's face brighten every time a familiar jingle rang from the piano was far more satisfying than hearing the tunes himself.

More than anything, he was simply relieved that the night seemed to be going smoothly so far. Tifa did not know that, despite showing some newfound confidence a week ago when he asked her to spend this evening with him, Cloud had been a nervous wreck every time he thought about or planned for this moment throughout the week. It was not as though he had any experience at all with this sort of affair, and having it be with Tifa just made it much more important to him that she received the best experience possible.

"Cloud, are you sure you didn't know anything about the pianist here?" Tifa asked when they had finished their main courses and awaited their dessert.

"No, I didn't," he replied. "All I knew about this place was from whatever I heard the owner say during my deliveries."

"I could swear you requested him here just for me," she observantly remarked. "He was playing so many classical pieces I enjoyed in my childhood."

"Sorry, Tifa, but I can't take credit for that," he admitted.

"Being an honest gentleman now, aren't we?" she teased, and he knew his cheeks were becoming red from her compliment.

The server brought them the small strawberry shortcake that Cloud had ordered, and they each took half, eating the sweet treat while enjoying another tune. Shortly after finishing their food and requesting the bill, Cloud was about to ask Tifa how she felt about their meal when a surprising announcement stopped him.

"Okay, folks, I am obligated to take a thirty-minute break right now," the pianist announced. "However, the piano is open for anyone who would like to play some tunes, so please don't be shy about coming up and jamming on it."

Cloud's ears perked up, and he immediately looked at Tifa. Without the need to say a word, he could tell that she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Hmm…I don't know, Cloud," she said hesitantly. "I haven't played in so long."

He was instantly encouraged by the fact that she did not say "no" outright; in his mind, this meant that there was at least some desire to reacquaint herself with the instrument. He was not shocked; Tifa never shied away from challenges, and this was another opportunity for her to showcase a skill that she worried may have been forgotten.

"I'm willing to bet you still can play really well," he encouraged. "Besides, like I told you earlier, I loved hearing you play, and I'd love to hear it again."

She was still showing some reluctance on her face, but it also appeared that his encouragement worked to soften up some of her hesitancy. Cloud beamed at her widely in a genuine way to further offer some inspiration.

"Okay, I'll do it for you," Tifa finally agreed, standing up and walking toward the piano.

Few diners even took note of her presence when she sat down on the bench facing the instrument. Cloud watched from their table, admiring the simple gestures she was making to prepare herself to play: running her fingers over the keys, testing a few of them to refresh her memory of their notes, etc. She had yet to begin the song, and he already thought she looked as graceful as she had ever been.

She started off slowly, practicing the first few notes of the tune. Then, a few seconds in, he noticed that she had found her flow, and the song began coming out effortlessly. Her motions changed from stiff to fluid as she moved her arms along the keys like a swan moving its wings, letting them guide her body in an elegant sway. It was strange; he had never seen her play from such a clear point of view, having only heard her from his house (or outside hers) and caught glimpses of her in front of her old piano, but the way she moved about complemented the suppleness of every note flawlessly.

He was so focused on how polished she looked that he did not even notice what song she was playing until part of the way through. It was the same tune that he had heard the first time his ears caught the piano sounds emanating from her house, and he remembered having briefly jammed a few notes of it on her piano when they were pursuing Sephiroth, except it now seemed to have been altered slightly in a way that stirred his emotions even more effectively. Back in Nibelheim, he already thought it sounded perfect, but she was proving once again that perfection was only a starting point for her.

It was not until she finished the piece that he realized he was not the only one who had been captivated by her playing. The entire floor of diners, half of whom had barely paid any attention at all to the pianist before, burst into applause once she hit her last note. He could tell that she did not expect such a reaction either, as all she could do was gently smile when she stood up and slightly nodded her head in a weak bow while blushing. She made her way back to their table, giving a few other diners a gracious "thank you" when they stopped her to praise her skills.

She approached him, and as their eyes met, she exhaled a huge sigh of relief.

"That felt good," she commented, sitting back down in her seat across the table from him. "Thanks for encouraging me, Cloud."

"Tifa, that was incredible!" he exclaimed. "You didn't sound like you were rusty at all."

"It's only one song, Cloud," she informed but failed to hide the redness in her cheeks. "I just happen to know this one somewhat well."

"Yeah, I remember hearing you play this back in Nibelheim, but it didn't sound the same," he informed.

"Well, that's because it's not the original song," she explained. "My mother taught me the original, which was a classic piece. I actually changed it up a bit to make it more of my own. Maybe that's why it doesn't sound the same."

He had no idea she was talented enough to create her own arrangement, even so much as to take an established tune and make it sound even better. Now his curiosity was piqued.

"You changed it up?" Cloud asked. "Why?"

"Well, I wanted to make something that expressed some of my feelings, so I just tried to put my thoughts into music," Tifa replied. "This is what came out."

"So, what is it called?" he had to ask.

She hesitated for a bit, looking up at him and smiling as her cheeks turned red once more. Her eyes shifted away from him when she finally gave him an answer.

"Cloud's Theme."

* * *

Fenrir had never felt so light to Cloud. His heart had not stopped pounding in his chest ever since Tifa revealed the name of her song, and having her lean against his back in the same position as before did nothing to help calm it down. They may have been riding a motorcycle on their way back home, but for Cloud, he might as well have been gliding across the air.

They pulled back into the garage and dismounted the vehicle. Cloud opened the door to Seventh Heaven, then took Tifa's hand as they walked in together. Barret had passed out on one of the booth benches and was snoring loudly, indicating to them that Marlene and Denzel were already asleep. They ascended the stairs, and one sneak peek into the children's room confirmed that Barret had indeed put them to bed.

Cloud brought Tifa to her bedroom door and let her hand go.

"Thank you for agreeing to go out with me tonight," he said, hoping his words came out as appreciative and not robotic.

"I should be the one thanking you," she responded. "I had such a wonderful time."

For a few seconds, they simply stared at each other like awkward teenagers, uncertain of what to do. Cloud even placed his hand on the back of his neck, a gesture that he knew Tifa recognized as a sign of nervousness, but it was so instinctive that he could not prevent himself from it. Once again, he was mentally kicking himself for his lack of experience and general hesitation in front of Tifa.

She seemed to sense this though, and in a possible attempt to calm him, reached her hand up to his chest and placed it atop his heart. As he beat against the touch of her palm, Tifa gently moved to close the distance between them until it disappeared completely, leaning her head against his shoulder. Slowly, Cloud found the appropriate response, gently placing his hands around her waist and pulling her into a half-awkward hug. He felt her answer his gesture by looping her arms around his neck and clutching him tighter.

He did not know what came over him, but he acted on impulse when he brought his lips down to kiss the top of her head. This seemed to catch her attention, as she removed her head from his shoulder and looked up to meet his eyes with hers.

The spell of her sparkling ruby eyes drew his face down toward hers, and he gradually narrowed the gap between them until the space vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope their date was to your liking. I'm not very good at describing music, but I hope revealing that Cloud jammed the tune during the chase for Sephiroth gave away what song Tifa was playing. I wanted to include a moment during their date that showed how Tifa used music to convey her feelings about Cloud from their younger days, and what better song to do so than the FF7 Main Theme itself, right?
> 
> Okay, five chapters down. Thank you for reading. Please feel free to leave me any comments you may have. I always appreciate them!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly can't believe I'm already six chapters into this fic. It's been really fun to write, and I can only hope that it's just as fun for you to read. Okay, onward!

The first brush of their lips together was light and quick. The second was a bit longer with more feeling. By the third, the passion started to emanate, their lips refused to part from one another, and their heads were moving with the flow. It was their first kiss in what felt like eons, and after the amazing night out she had just shared with him, Tifa was going to savor the moment.

She tightened her hold around his neck, pushing herself more against him while absorbing the euphoric sensation of their lips steadily exploring each other. One moment, she was syncing her movements with him guiding her; the next moment, she was leading him with all the fervor she could muster. Regardless of who was in charge at any given second, they kept the pace slow, allowing the heat between them to build gradually.

Tifa could feel her own heart pounding faster, and as every second passed, her own desire for him became harder to ignore. Cloud had been distant for so long, even before Geostigma led to his withdrawal, but now he was truly home and opening up to her like he never had in the past. Tonight's date, which was everything she desired—simple but elegant, standard but unique, well-planned but unexpected—showed her that he meant every word he had said a week ago. Now, as they were lengthening the time they shared in their kiss, the feelings she held for him deep within her were being offered an opportunity for a perfectly timed release. She had already welcomed him home, but the moment had come to take the next step in welcoming him back; this time, it would be into her heart.

She felt him pull away from their kiss slowly, and she opened her eyes to meet his once more, seeing the longing that he mutually shared with her reflected in his Mako orbs. They both adorned smiles laced with satisfaction, gratitude, and yearning. Tifa was ready to reach for her door and invite him into the privacy of her chambers, ready to fully embrace him as intimately as she once had, but he spoke first.

"It's getting late," he said. "We should get some sleep. We both have to be up early tomorrow."

"That's right, you have a long-distance delivery, don't you?" she remembered.

"Yeah, so I won't be back until the next evening," he followed up.

Cloud released his grip on her and gradually backed away until they were apart at arm's length. Tifa did not resist, loosening her hold around his neck and watching him increase the distance between them.

"I'll see you in the morning, Teef," he said, maintaining the gratitude in his smile. "Thanks again for accompanying me tonight. Sleep well."

"You too, Cloud," she could only reply. "Good night."

Tifa watched Cloud turn around and head to his office, where he had been sleeping every evening since his return. As he opened his door, she did the same with hers, inching her way into her bedroom. It was not until she had closed her door that she fully realized he would not be joining her.

"What just happened?" she heard herself whisper softly.

She replayed the scenario that just occurred. Did he reject her? No, he could not have, because she did not ask him. Why did she not ask him though? He inadvertently had denied her the opportunity by speaking first and backing away. Just when she had thought that the timing was right, fate had thrown her another curveball.

The questions lingered. Why had he said what he did? She saw his desires reflected in his eyes. He was as ready as she was to carry forth, but instead, he backed away and ended their evening together. Was it something she did? Did she show him a sign of resistance while they were kissing? Did something happen earlier in the evening that convinced him not to proceed with her?

On and on, they swirled in her mind as Tifa went through her normal routine before bed. Even when she finished showering, brushing her teeth, and changing into her sleepwear, she was still inundated by these questions that she found difficult to set aside.

Her head hit the pillow, and she slowly drifted off to sleep, unable to stop wondering how it could be at the moment if she had gotten her words out before he did.

* * *

_Spring was always the best season in Nibelheim. The cold winter's freezing snow was melting away, and the oppressive heat of summer was still a few months off. For most of the town's residents, spring meant a fresh beginning. Optimism was always high, lifting the town up from some of the gloomy spirits that usually accumulated during the winter months._

_Tifa normally contributed to the positive atmosphere every spring, but the arrival of the season this year brought her feelings of hollowness. A few months ago, her next-door neighbor had called her out to the town well and told her of his plans to join SOLDIER. It was an announcement that came out of nowhere, and now, the day of his departure had arrived._

_She had never asked Cloud why he suddenly decided he would run off to Midgar and enroll into Shinra's elite battle corps, but it seemed to have revealed a side of him that she never suspected he had: nobility. Prior to that evening at the well, the two of them had not spoken much to each other for years despite living next door, and all she knew about him was that he fought often with the other boys in town. He had given Wel, Dan, and Mayday their fare share of black eyes, and it concerned her that he had become so starkly aggressive. He certainly did not sound like the Cloud she remembered from her youngest days._

_Despite this, Tifa had never personally witnessed him involved in any fights. In fact, each time she had seen him, he showed nothing close to the aggression that he had become infamous for. While she had no reason to doubt the words of the townsfolk or her friends, she figured there must have been something else deeper within him that explained his strange behavior._

_When he called her to the well all those months ago and opened up to her about his plans, she did not see a troubled young man, but a determined youth out to prove something. She still did not know what exactly that something was, but a concern over losing contact with him swept over her, and she had him promise to come to her rescue as a way to at least get him to verbally commit to seeing her again. She did not know at the time what his agreement to the promise meant, but in the months since then, she became more and more convinced that he had actually taken it to heart._

_They had started to grow closer in the past few months. She was unsure if they mutually considered each other friends, but they were certainly no longer as estranged as they had once been. They had a few small conversations whenever they saw each other, and although she was certain he was not telling her everything, it began feeling as though he was no longer trying to hide from her. The fights also stopped, at least according to her friends and others around town. Even her father gradually started letting down his guard when he saw them speaking to each other despite years of warning her to stay away from the "troublemaker" next door._

_As the walls between them were slowly chipped off, Tifa found herself drawn to him in a way that she could not explain. Of course, being thirteen-years-old, there were a ton of changes she had experienced—both physical and emotional—that she did not quite understand, and not having her mother present for her to talk with certainly kept the water muddy. She initially tried to dismiss her growing fondness for Cloud but eventually found it impossible to ignore; in fact, it had become so difficult for her to not think about him that, in a role-reversal from their younger days, she now found herself frequently peering through his window for any glimpses of his presence._

_Her growing affection for him only accelerated when Wel, Dan, and Mayday all left Nibelheim to pursue their own ambitions. With her old friends gone, Cloud became her primary company among those their age. Even so, just when she felt as though they were on the brink of something more special, his departure date arrived to separate them._

_Standing at the Nibelheim gate, Tifa watched as Cloud and his mother exited from their home and walked toward her. She had gotten up incredibly early this morning to send him off, having prepared something for him to take along. The sight of him approaching brought her a shiver of joy, but that joy was soon followed by a frown as she realized this would be their last moment together for quite some time._

_"Good morning, Cloud!" she greeted in a tone that reflected her complex emotions. "Good morning, Mrs. Strife."_

_"Oh, good morning, Tifa!" the cheerful mother returned her greeting with Cloud following suit. "You're up early today."_

_"Yeah, I came to see Cloud off," she informed._

_As Tifa stepped forward, Mrs. Strife backed away, subtly indicating that she would give their young neighbor this moment._

_"Here," Tifa said, handing a small container in a plastic bag to Cloud. "I baked these cookies last night for you to take on your journey."_

_"Oh, you didn't have to, Tifa," came his response, and a blush of pink dotted his cheeks as he accepted her gift. "But thank you."_

_They stood for a few seconds just looking at each other in the eyes. She saw pure innocence in the blue of his mixed with a dash of uncertainty at what he was about to do. He shifted his glance toward the ground when he realized they had been staring at each other for too long, unable to hide the awkwardness._

_There was so much she still wanted to tell him: how it would no longer be the same without him living next door, how she appreciated all the moments—no matter how sparse they had been—that they had shared, how she hoped he remembered their promise, and even how she was starting to feel funny every time she was in his presence. However, with time running out and her own uncertainties still lingering, all she could conjure up was a standard farewell message._

_"Please, have a safe journey, Cloud," she said. "Take care in Midgar, and come back soon, okay?"_

_"I'll try, Teef," he responded._

_Tifa gave Cloud one last smile, then turned her gaze to his mother—who thanked her for the cookies—and nodded before walking back toward her house, allowing the last moment before his departure to be with the woman who raised him. As her footsteps carried her farther away from the gates, Tifa continued to ponder over her puzzling feelings._

* * *

Sunrise awakened Tifa from her reminiscent dream. She had slept well, given that she felt no lingering effects of wanting to plop back down onto the bed again. However, the events of the previous evening still would not stop playing in her mind.

She should have awakened to a blissful morning. Her date with Cloud had gone better than she could ever have anticipated. He made her feel completely at ease, and she could still feel her heart swelling at the passing of every second. The evening ended in quite possibly the best way imaginable for both of them. Why, then, did this morning feel so…incomplete?

Confusion was not a feeling she wanted right now. Confusion meant that there were at least some ill thoughts about their date when there clearly should not have been any. As she got up and changed back into her normal clothes though, confusion would not free itself from her mind. She tried to put it aside, recognizing that she had to get downstairs to prepare breakfast for four other hungry mouths with Barret still present, but part of her still could not shake off the confusion.

She was able to focus on her cooking for a while, but once the food was made, the questions came back. The longer she thought about them, the more uncertain she grew. Thankfully, before her thoughts scrambled her mind too far, the first footsteps coming down the stairs could be heard, and Tifa put on her trademark grin to greet the figure entering the bar area.

"Morning, Tifa," Marlene cheerfully said before instantly turning her attention to the figure snoring in the booth. "Hey, Daddy! Wake up! Tifa already made breakfast!"

Barret groggily rose from his seat and instantly pulled Marlene into a hug upon seeing her.

"There's my baby girl!" he exclaimed in his typical fatherly fashion.

"Come on, Daddy, you know your beard tickles!" Marlene said while playfully struggling against his grip. "Let's go eat already."

Barret picked up Marlene and walked over to the stools where Tifa had laid out their food.

"Mornin', Teef," he greeted, setting his daughter beside him and sitting down. "Man, I missed your cookin'!"

"Morning, Barret," she responded. "Thanks."

"So, how did it go with Spike?" he asked.

"Great!" she answered, sounding fully sincere.

"Glad to hear that," he said, seemingly convinced.

Tifa was grateful that Marlene had come down and awakened her father. Her confusion over why she was not fully satisfied with the events of the previous evening still dawdled, meaning she was not in the best mood to provide any specifics. Had she come downstairs to see Barret already up, he undoubtedly would have tried to prod her for some details about her date with Cloud that she did not feel like giving, but with Marlene present, Barret was now less likely to do so in front of his little girl.

As father and daughter dug into their meal, more footsteps could be heard from the stairs.

"Morning, everyone!" Denzel said upon reaching the bottom of the steps before taking his seat in front of one of the two available plates. "Cloud said he'll be down in a minute. Did you two have fun last night, Tifa?"

"Of course," she answered without hesitation, although part of her wondered what Cloud had already told the boy. "We had lots of fun."

"Yeah, he said he had fun too," Denzel followed up, cutting his eggs with his fork. "He said he really loved hearing you play the piano again."

"Aww, I wish we could've heard Tifa play, right Daddy?" Marlene commented.

"Oh, that would've been a treat!" Barret responded.

A blush formed on Tifa's face at the compliments.

"Ugh, that Cloud…" she sighed without losing her smile.

As if he heard the mentioning of his name, Cloud came down the stairs. Tifa watched his smile widen the moment their eyes met.

"Look what you did, Cloud," she immediately said to him lightheartedly. "Now I have three others who want to hear me play the piano."

"Well, good morning to you too," he replied. "Do you want me to take back what I said?"

"Just eat your breakfast," she instructed playfully. "Don't you have a tight schedule for your deliveries?"

"That I do," he acknowledged as he took his seat next to Denzel.

With everyone now gathered, Tifa took her plate and joined in. The conversation first focused on Cloud's deliveries, which he revealed would take him to Kalm, Fort Condor, and Junon, keeping him away from Seventh Heaven overnight. He promised the children that he would return for dinner tomorrow barring unforeseen circumstances, which they were delighted to hear. The discussion then shifted to Barret's latest work in North Corel, which he would return to that evening after spending the day with Marlene and Denzel. The children immediately started proposing ideas on where they could go, and Barret was more than happy to accommodate.

Once breakfast was finished, everyone dispersed for their respective tasks and activities. Marlene and Denzel practically pulled Barret out of Seventh Heaven almost immediately, and Cloud was off once he had gathered his belongings.

Cloud did not leave without giving Tifa one last warm smile though. Normally, this would have been enough, but as she watched him depart, Tifa's mind started drifting back to the puzzled feeling it had held onto from the previous evening. Multiple questions still lingered over why she was still uncertain when everything had gone so smoothly, but as she heard Fenrir roar off into the distance, one seemed to plague her mind more than any other, and she could not help but whisper it to herself.

"Why does it seem like he always pulls away whenever we start growing close?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if you were expecting their healing process to be a smooth ride. We should all know by now that this is not the way their relationship ever seems to operate. They will continue to hit bumps in the road, and as the story's description says, this is an exploration of how they overcome these barriers to clear communication.
> 
> I want to thank everyone who has been following this story so far. As always, your comments are greatly appreciated.
> 
> See you next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first portion of the story is complete. In this next portion, each chapter will be divided between Cloud's and Tifa's perspectives instead of focusing only on one character's point of view at a time.
> 
> I want to take this time to thank everyone here and on the Final Heaven Discord server again for inspiring, reading, and providing feedback. I know I say it a lot, but your support truly does mean everything.
> 
> Okay, onward to the next chapter!

While the Junon inn was always a comfortable place to rest, it still felt strange for Cloud to be away from Seventh Heaven for the evening. He knew he should not be experiencing such eccentricity in spending the night away from home, considering he had already done so for an extended period of time when he had abandoned his family and settled in the Sector 5 church, but his first night away after his return made him feel as though he was leaving Nibelheim again for the first time. There were similar mixed emotions coursing through his mind as that night: unease at the environment, questions over what exactly he was doing, uncertainty about whether or not it was the right time, etc.

"Get a hold of yourself," his mind spoke to him during a moment of clarity. "You're only away for one evening. By this time tomorrow, you'll be back with Tifa and the kids."

Without a doubt, he realized that, but he still could not shake off some of the emotions despite them making absolutely no sense. He left to deliver some packages, not chase a career for years just to impress his crush or to live the rest of his life in solitude, so why were these feelings bothering him at all?

He tried to think back to what exactly could be nagging at him. Had he said or done something that left himself confused in any way? The previous evening with Tifa had gone as well as he could have hoped for with them even sharing a meaningful kiss at the end of their date, and there was no indication that anything had gone wrong this morning. Did he miss something, or was his mind simply so used to plans going awry that it automatically started questioning everything even when there was nothing to question?

Cloud began recollecting the details of his evening with Tifa. He could remember the exuberance coursing through him after she revealed that she had actually composed a song and named it after him. He could remember the hesitation at her bedroom door before she placed her hand over his heart and led him down to kiss her. During their kiss, he could remember feeling the desire well up in him to push himself deeper into her embrace and escalate his actions, and he could remember choosing not to give into this desire out of respect for her. They were still healing, and it would have been absolutely wrong to become intimate with her before their emotional scars had been fully patched up.

Of course, this did not mean it was easy to make the right decision. From the moment he walked down the stairs and saw Tifa wearing that purple dress, self-control would be a challenge. Throughout their entire evening, she had unintentionally been tempting every one of his five senses: the sight of her all dolled up had him mentally shaking his head on more than one occasion, the sound of her playing the piano took him back to one of the most blissful memories from his childhood, the smell and taste of her natural vanilla scent beckoned him nonstop like a blooming spring garden, and the feel of her body against his tapped nerves that were desperate for the contact of intimacy. Cloud was more thankful than ever that he had the ability to remain disciplined, since he knew he would never be able to forgive himself if he had made any impulsive moves that caused even a remote semblance of discomfort for Tifa.

Yes, after reflecting on the evening more thoroughly, Cloud was undeniably convinced that nothing had gone wrong for once. He even kept himself within his own boundaries in the morning, speaking with Tifa lightheartedly and parting from her with a smile to give her the space she likely needed after he had been so close to her the night before. Tifa was simply too precious and too important for him to offer everything he had at once without pulling back.

Once he had gathered his feelings in order, Cloud closed his eyes and allowed sleep to overtake him. His last thoughts before he lost consciousness for the evening were on his next plans for Tifa and him to continue mending their relationship.

* * *

Barret left soon after he had dropped Marlene and Denzel off back at Seventh Heaven, and the two children spent time over dinner regaling Tifa with their stories about exploring Edge alongside the gun-armed man. It was not a particularly busy evening, so Tifa had more time to listen to their harrowing tales of dragging him around to browse their favorite places. Luckily for her, they did not turn on their childlike charms and beg him to make purchases for them that she did not approve of.

She took a brief moment to give herself a mental pat on the back for effectively teaching them proper manners, and she certainly had to give Cloud credit for also playing a part in integrating such a lesson into the two of them. For all the troubles that had plagued her relationship with Cloud, Tifa was glad that the two of them were remarkably consistent in their parenting duties. While it was true that Marlene and Denzel were not troublemakers who gave adults a hard time, neither Tifa nor Cloud ever opened up any opportunities for the two youngsters to play one adult off the other. Lessons that one adult passed on to the two children were always reinforced by the approval of the other, and even when she and Cloud were at their lowest points, they still made sure to impart strong values in the children. Certainly, this did not mean that their troubles had no effect on the little ones, but Tifa knew it was this parental consistency that helped give both Marlene and Denzel enough fortitude to remain emotionally strong throughout the Geostigma turmoil and even allow them to help bring her and Cloud back together.

As she finished her nightly routine, thoughts about the children had Tifa climbing into bed in a much clearer state of mind than she had been in the morning. In fact, it seemed rather silly to her at the moment that she would even have such confused feelings toward Cloud after he had given her such an enjoyable evening together. He was home now, he had promised he would stay for good—he certainly was not someone who intentionally broke his promises—and he was proving through every one of his plans and actions so far that he genuinely meant to fully reintegrate himself into his family again. It almost seemed selfish of her to anticipate that he should be giving her so much more so soon after his return and then be bothered if he did not deliver on her own expectations; surely, Tifa was not someone who would give in to selfishness.

Confident that whatever she felt that morning would eventually get sorted out, Tifa found herself falling asleep rather quickly.

* * *

_"I want to see Mom!" Tifa's mind kept repeating. "I have to see Mom!"_

_The path up Mt. Nibel had gotten more difficult to traverse. The weather condition was getting foggier. As she looked up, she saw the rest of her path shrouded in a mist so thick that even her nine-year-old self knew would keep her blind throughout every step she would take. Still, she continued up the mountain, more determined than ever to find her mother._

_"Tifa!" a voice screamed from behind her. She recognized it as one of her friends, but at the moment, she was too focused on the task at hand to care which one. "Tifa, come back! You'll get lost!"_

_She kept going. A few minutes later, the voice was gone. By now, she had reached the altitude where all she could see around her was fog. She pushed forward, carefully winding her way through the rocky path, watching her footing with every step until the image of the bridge started to visualize in front of her eyes._

_She took a step onto the bridge and felt no movement. She took another step, then another, then another. As she approached the center of the bridge, it started swaying more noticeably. Still, she refused to worry. She had to make it to the other side. She simply had to see her mother._

_"Tifa!" another faint voice of a child was calling from behind, but this one did not sound like one of her three main friends. Given her surroundings and the condition she found herself in, Tifa could not pinpoint exactly whose voice it was. It startled her a bit that anyone else would follow her this far up, especially someone around her age, but Tifa was too set on her goal right now to think too much about it._

_One step, two steps, three steps…Tifa continued carefully crossing the bridge. Four, five…_

_It happened so quickly that, even as overtly cautious as she had been, she was caught completely off guard. Her foot had slipped, and the bridge's sway instantly became more violent. In the blink of an eye, she had lost her grip on the rope and was falling, and the last sound she heard was the same voice from moments ago screaming alongside hers._

_A sharp pain bore itself into her body, and then she knew no more._

* * *

Tifa snapped up from her bed but immediately realized that it was just a nightmare. Relief washed over her instantly, but surprise also met her just as quickly. She had not been having any nightmares in recent weeks, and it was strange for her to suddenly experience this one seemingly out of the blue, especially since her memory of the incident remained hazy at best.

She took a quick glance at the clock and saw that it was only 3:15 AM. Unable to find sleep so shortly after her first nightmare in quite some time, Tifa's reclusive emotional habits started to drown her in her own thoughts.

Although this particular nightmare was not frequent, it was one that she had experienced before. Each time, however, something specific would play out differently. Sometimes, there would be nobody calling for her. Other times, she would actually see Cloud's hand reaching out toward her before he fell down with her. This time, despite consciously knowing that Cloud was the one nearby when she took her tumble, it felt as though Tifa's subconscious refused to acknowledge his presence.

Tifa did not know exactly what, if anything, this meant. Normally, in all of her dreams—including the most torturous nightmares—Cloud was instantly identifiable if he was present. This was especially true if the dream was a retelling of a past event; the small details may change from time to time as she reflected, but if Cloud was there, he would make an appearance that her subconscious always recognized. Why did it seem to miss—or dismiss—him this time?

Not tired enough to fall back asleep but still too exhausted to process the possible answers to such a question, Tifa could only sigh to herself. It seemed as though, despite all of the much-longed-for positivity that had occurred since Cloud's return and the gradual shift toward normalcy, there remained no running from their past. As long as such memories were trapped in her subconscious, there would be opportunities for them to remind her of events that haunted her. Moving forward in her life with Cloud was going to take far more than a few heartfelt gestures, regardless of their sincerity and genuineness.

Tifa had no idea how long her thoughts had been running through her mind when she fell back asleep.

* * *

_The instant his fist connected with Wel's jaw, Cloud felt a surge of adrenaline that he had never experienced. Before he could even wrap his mind around what he was doing, he had landed another punch squarely against his opponent's temple. As Wel put his hands up to defend himself, Cloud saw his chance and kneed the older boy in the stomach. With his target hunched over and unable to emit even a whimper due to the direct shot to the gut, Cloud went for the final blow by bringing his elbow straight down onto Wel's back, knocking the boy down to the Nibelheim dirt._

_As he backed away from Wel, Dan and Mayday rushed up to help their friend._

_"What the hell is wrong with you, asshole?" Mayday screamed at him, equally as shocked as anyone else over what had just happened._

_Cloud knew he should have felt guilty when what he had just done finally dawned on him, but to his own surprise, he was much more relieved that he actually worked up the strength to knock another boy senseless. The three of them had been hounding him routinely for days, blasting him with insults about pushing Tifa off the mountain and making her father irate. When Cloud heard that Tifa had awakened from her coma and tried to check up on her, Tifa's father made it perfectly clear that he meant what he had said, sternly and vehemently warning Cloud to stay away or suffer severe consequences._

_Already on unfavorable terms with Tifa's friends, Mr. Lockhart's warning had served as the ultimate piece of ammunition they needed to isolate him from Tifa for good. Their name-calling had grown more vicious, and their taunts had escalated into outright provocation attempts. His mother urged him to ignore them, but when they started insulting her directly, Cloud finally snapped._

_He decided then and there that he would never again allow them to see him as an easy target to pick on. He decided that he had to start proving that he was strong enough to fight back against anyone who dared to provoke him. He would no longer tolerate those who were bold enough to dishonor his own mother; regardless of what they thought of him, he had to defend the only person who still cared about him._

_The fight lasted only a few seconds, but the message had been sent: Cloud Strife the weakling was no more._

_"You really are a psycho!" Dan accused. "Tifa'll never want to see you again after she finds out!"_

_Later that evening, when he was back at home, the weight of those words would start to sink in. However, at the moment, Cloud could not care less about what Dan said. In fact, had he not already started walking away, he would have decked Dan out right next to Wel to show him who was more powerful now._

_Cloud had finally found the strength to prove to those who attacked his dignity that he would not be trifled with anymore, and now he planned to use this strength to toughen himself up so he would never fail those he cared about—especially Tifa—again._

* * *

As his eyes opened, Cloud was greeted by "3:45 AM" in large, red numbers staring back at him from the alarm clock beside his bed. The recollection of his first fight in Nibelheim was an odd dream to have, and something in his head continued to nag at him about the significance of it all, but he was not in a clear enough state of mind to process such information at the moment.

Still though, Cloud always recognized that the fight had launched him into a period of his life that he was not particularly fond of. Having already carried around a belief that he was superior to the other boys, easily dispatching the older Wel only reinforced this pre-existing bias, and he would soon find himself getting into scuffles with almost every other boy in town in pointless attempts to defend his superiority. Looking back, he found it preposterous that there were moments during those years when he actually thought fighting anyone who tried to cross him would somehow prove his strength to Tifa; not only did they hardly ever talk for the next four years, but his fighting wound up repeatedly disappointed his mother to a degree that he would not fully realize until he made his decision to join SOLDIER.

During the sporadic moments he did have with Tifa, they never said much to each other. He never told her about his fights, and she never brought them up with him, but he was certain that she had heard about his newfound aggressiveness from the others around town and likely resented him for becoming such an uncontrollable havoc. Although she has since reassured him that she never hated him, it did little to dispel his own regrets.

To this day, he still found it ironic that, despite seeing himself as more mature than the others, he was really the one acting the most immature. In so many ways, this period of his life was another example of him failing to be the man she deserved and another guilty weight he carried on his shoulders when Geostigma drove him away from her.

Such negative thoughts were not what he wanted during the middle of his first night away from Seventh Heaven since he was cured of Geostigma. He was still pondering over why these thoughts resurfaced out of nowhere when he drifted back to sleep, not even noticing that he had been lying awake for nearly one hour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took some time to put this chapter together, since I'm sort of outlining the story backwards (as in I have the ending planned and am backpedaling to figure out how I want the story to lead up to the ending).
> 
> For those who are still reading and enjoying, thank you. While I have no timetable for when each chapter will be released or when this story will conclude, rest assured that I'll continue working on it. Your feedback, as always, is greatly appreciated.
> 
> See you next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're eight chapters in, and I think it's about time for this story to get some action. After all, given the setting, it would be kind of awkward if everything was normal all the time, right? Don't worry, because every event will still tie back to the main theme and focus of the story. Enjoy!

It was never easy to repress a nightmare, regardless of how much experience Tifa had developed in doing so. Her inability to stop herself from dwelling on her nightmares was a trait that she was not proud of herself for having, and try as she might, she still could not shake herself from it.

Still, that experience was beneficial, because just having it alone gave her more than enough strength to make it through the day without thinking too much about it. Neither the children nor any of her patrons had sensed anything wrong, although she would not be surprised if the former had detected something but simply chose to not bring it up with her. While she would feel more at ease if Marlene and Denzel were naïve to her dilemmas, she knew how sharp they could be sometimes from simply reading her facial expressions.

It was already late afternoon in Edge. Cloud had called a few hours ago to let her know that he would be arriving back in time for dinner as originally planned, much to the delight of all three of Seventh Heaven's residents. Marlene and Denzel were upstairs reading while Tifa was busying herself with preparations for the evening rush. As usual, the radio was on to keep her updated with the planet's latest news, which was now fully reported independently by accredited journalists instead of Shinra's hired mouthpieces.

"Another major milestone was reached in the fight to end Geostigma today, as Gaia can now celebrate having cured over 10,000 people," the broadcaster spoke. "While the disease has not been fully relinquished, reliable estimates from experts say that it should be eradicated within the next few weeks."

Such good news was always welcomed, but before Tifa could grin, the radio suddenly played its "breaking news" jingle.

"This just in: residents of Edge are warned to take immediate safety measures as a stampeding herd of wild animals is rampaging in the direction of the city from the east," came the sudden change in story. "Early reports indicate that the animals seem agitated."

As if triggered by the report, Tifa's phone rang the moment the broadcast finished. She checked the caller's number and picked up without hesitation.

"Reeve," she answered.

"Tifa, did you hear the report just now?" came the voice of the World Regenesis Organization's founder.

"Yeah, the stampeding animals?" Tifa responded.

"Correct," Reeve confirmed. "It looks like a giant pack of elfadunks along with a few other creatures scattered here and there. WRO agents have responded, but I don't know if we'll make it to them before they reach Edge."

"Thanks, Reeve," Tifa replied. "I'm on it."

She hung up the phone and sprang upstairs, knowing there would be time to ask questions later about why elfadunks decided to suddenly shown up along Edge's borders. In the blink of an eye, she stopped herself in front of the children's room.

"Marlene, Denzel," Tifa commanded, using a tone of voice that she knew they would instantly recognize as an order that should not be disobeyed. "Get underground."

Like the old Seventh Heaven, the new one also had a basement with a hidden escape passageway that few knew about. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret had insisted that one be built in case of emergencies, and outside of them and the children, nobody had ever located or used it.

Just as she gave her instructions, the citywide emergency alarm that had been installed shortly after Bahamut SIN's attack sounded across Edge, urging residents to stay within the confines of their homes. Marlene and Denzel did not need another warning; they sprang from their beds and bolted downstairs to activate the hidden door to the basement.

Once the youngsters vanished, Tifa ran to her room, reached into her closet, and pulled out the trunk containing her battle gear. She put on her Premium Heart knuckles and slotted them with fire, elemental, restore, and counter-attack materia before returning downstairs and out the bar. Elfadunks and the beasts that roamed the eastern continent were not challenging for a seasoned fighter like Tifa, but she was taking no chances.

The scene outside was chaotic as Edge's residents ran for cover in the atmosphere of the deafening emergency alarm. Tifa quickly locked the doors to Seventh Heaven to prevent any strangers from barging in and putting her home and children in jeopardy, then sprinted east to meet the beasts. As much as she wanted to offer Seventh Heaven as a temporary refuge for those too far away from their own homes, it would not put her at ease to do so while she was away trying to quell the situation.

She reached Edge's city limits shortly only to be confronted by an alarming sight: rapidly approaching was a thick dust cloud kicked up by a screaming rush of elfadunks that stretched across almost the entire horizon. She looked to her left and right and saw the red berets of WRO soldiers, but only a small handful of them were present. Their defense was spread so thin that it would be impossible to prevent the creatures from blitzing directly into town if nothing was done to drive them off.

Two of the soldiers hurled grenades at the stampede, but aside from disorientating a few of the creatures, the explosions did little besides adding to the noise. One rashly ran forward and fired his rifle at one of the animals, but was quickly thrown aside by its trunk. There seemed to be no other choice now; Tifa was going to have to take the creatures head on.

As soon as the herd had reached striking distance, Tifa leaped into action, swiftly kicking one elfadunk in the chin before beating it down with a flurry of punches. Using its body to spring upward, she somersaulted backward to meet another that had gotten behind her and gave it the same beating as the first. The fire-elemental materia combination was doing its job decently to knock the creatures out faster than if she was only punching. She repeated this series of attacks twice more, sending two more of the beasts into unconsciousness while barely breaking a sweat.

Unfortunately, defeating only four out of an uncountable number did little to stop the stampede as a whole, since by now, the elfadunks had already crossed into Edge. The streets were shaking from their tramples, and smaller structures were simply bulldozed over. If Tifa wanted to drive them out of the city, she would need to target more than one at a time. Taking another leap backward to once again confront the herd at its front line, Tifa made sure to land in between the paths of two elfadunks.

However, luck was not on her side. As she was coming down for her landing, one of the elfadunks just happened to be spraying its shower attack upward and caught Tifa directly in its path. The attack followed her all the way until she landed, continuously hitting her with the jet of water that put her in a state of sadness, hindering her from building up her power limits. Any hope she had of quickly dispersing the creatures was gone as she realized that it would now take twice as long to reach her limit breaks. At the very least, the state she was in also meant she would no longer absorb as much damage from the creatures, but that was little consolation when her main goal was driving them out of the city.

She turned toward the two closest elfadunks and launched into her usual flurry of kicks and punches, making sure to spring between the two of them as she tried to knock them both down. It took awhile longer, but they did fall. Now growing bolder from her successes and knowing she needed to act even faster, Tifa vowed to increase the number of beasts she hit while catching her breath for the first time. She flew backward and into their front lines again, this time landing punches on five of them while flying between the creatures with her quick movements to dodge any counterreactions. When she was hit, the counter-attack materia triggered, sending her flying into the creature with a perfectly connected punch that left it reeling.

Even with her progress, the herd continued storming deeper into the city. At that moment, Tifa decided it was time for a more drastic move. Having powered up her adrenaline levels from her sweeping attacks, Tifa took another flip backwards to face the creatures' ever-advancing front line before charging forward like a locomotive. As she collided with their line, she punched her way through as rapidly as possible, striking every elfadunk that happened to be in the path of her elementally enhanced fists. Her adrenaline carried her into the air when she uppercut one creature, then brought her fist down on the same creature and sent it crashing back to the surface.

That seemed to have finally grabbed the creatures' attention, because the moment she landed, a significant chunk of the herd suddenly stopped their forward rampage and redirected their focus squarely at her. Without a moment to breathe, Tifa found herself targeted by the stampede closing in all around her. She managed to connect her foot with the first creature's jaw, but another seized its opportunity to whack her leg, throwing off her balance. Before she could even think about regaining her stability, another elfadunk smashed its trunk against her back, suddenly propelling her momentum in the opposite direction. Her focus returned for a split second as the counter-attack materia activated, allowing her to connect her fist with one creature, but her victory was short lived as she felt yet another elfadunk collide with her from her left, nearly goring her with one of its tusks.

Realizing that she was surrounded, Tifa tried her best to maintain her focus, but the sudden turning of the tide had caught her off guard too significantly. She desperately needed a limit break, but getting hit by their shower attack from earlier meant that such a break would be greatly delayed. Another rammed her from the back, and Tifa could feel the force of the attack triggering an injury somewhere around the upper part of her body. Elfadunks were not supposed to be too difficult, but their sheer numbers were starting to overwhelm her, and somehow, these elfadunks were far more coordinated in their assault than the ones she was used to battling.

She managed to regain enough of her focus to uppercut another creature, but was struck on her right while airborne. As she tried to brace her body to land, another trunk smashed into her from the left, throwing her completely off. The limit break was still nowhere near being reached, and she was starting to feel the effects of fatigue from the battle. She tried to activate her restore materia, but was instantly kicked by another elfadunk before her hand could even reach it. The counter-attack materia sent her fists flying forward to take out her most recent assailant, but something cracked from the kick, and Tifa instinctively went to grab her left rib cage once her retaliation was finished. Her throat made a hacking sound, and before she knew it, she had spat out some blood.

Needless to say, this was not how she envisioned the battle. As she tried to pick herself up, another strike from another elfadunk launched her backward. She landed on the ground and slid to a stop, slightly gasping as the gravel tore through her arms and knees, scraping them open. Sheer willpower was the only reason she would not quit, but her body was now crying for her to stop fighting and find a way to escape.

* * *

_She was bruised and beaten all over. Scrapes and cuts dotted her joints and limbs. Her breathing was heavy, and she was suffering from extreme discomfort in every muscle from her neck down. If there was one silver lining to her current situation, it was that at least she had not broken any bones._

_Tifa did not know what she was thinking. She had only been training for a week, and on a whim, she chose to sneak off to Mt. Nibel to test her skills. It went as well as any reasonable person could have foreseen: all it took was one pack of monsters to send her running. She somehow managed to escape from them before they could successfully beat her unconscious, and now she was dragging her limping body back into town, carrying a laundry list of injuries._

_She felt humiliated, humbled, and worthless. Some knee-jerk part of her teenage mind thought that she was actually ready to face the monsters of Mt. Nibel, and she had ridiculously chosen to listen to that part of her mind instead of being the reasonable thinker that she knew she was. Now all she had to show for her actions was a broken body that she hoped no one in town would see. Fortunately, she had arrived back during a quiet time of the day, so there were no eyes on her as far as she could tell._

_She was about to head home but quickly decided against it. Knowing her father, he would likely blame Master Zangan for her injuries and forbid her from training under him again. No, she could not have him withdraw her from Zangan's sessions. In just one week, she had grown both fond of and addicted to her newfound training regimen, and she would be damned if her father deprived her of it. She changed course and started the walk toward Zangan's dojo instead._

_As she carried herself forward, her thoughts tried to dull the pain by shifting toward another person who had likely started his own training by now. About one month ago, she had bid farewell to her next-door neighbor when he set off on his journey to Midgar to become a SOLDIER. She wondered if Cloud's experiences were different from hers, picturing him working rigorously to become the hero that he promised her he would be. It did not escape her mind that today was one of those times when she had put her useless self in a position in which his heroism would have been more than welcomed._

_A brief fantasy flashed in her mind of how different it would have been moments ago if her blond crusader had been present, swooping in to save her from the clutches of Mt. Nibel's monsters before she would take the beating that she eventually did suffer in reality. She imagined Cloud with a hero's sword in his hand, pummeling the beasts into unconsciousness before picking her up and carrying her away within the strength and safety of his muscular arms._

_"Tifa!" Zangan's voice interrupted her moment of make-believe, bringing her back to the present. "What happened to you?"_

_She stood still for a moment, unable to utter a word to explain her rash decision to her master. He, however, did not wait for her, running over to give her a quick inspection before taking her hand and slowly guiding her back inside his dojo to properly treat her injuries._

* * *

As quickly as she had learned her lesson from her first beating that day, it did not make the end result easy for Tifa to swallow. At the very least, that was when she first started training and had completely overestimated her strength. Now, however, she should not be losing her battle against a group of beasts that had long stood as easy targets for her to defeat.

Tifa picked herself off the ground, but as she rose to her feet, she was met with a sight of pure horror as a charging elfadunk completely obscured her view. With no time to ready an attack, she gathered whatever energy she could muster to prepare her defensive maneuver, bracing herself for another impact.

However, the impact never came. Instead, the loud noise of a slashing sword overpowered all of the other sounds that had dominated the battle area. The sword's power hit the elfadunk and sent it falling over instantly, then did the same to another…and another…and another. Having seen the attack countless times, Tifa recognized it immediately: Omnislash.

One by one, the beasts fell. One by one, the creatures that had surrounded and attacked her collapsed in their tracks. As the limit break attack did its job, Tifa watched the stampede start to thin out. The elfadunks that were not struck gradually realized the power of the attack and wisely chose to start running away from it.

"Sorry I'm late," Tifa heard Cloud's voice while feeling his hand on her upper arm. "Are you okay? You're hurt."

"It's okay, Cloud," she quickly answered him. "I'm fine. Just get the stampede out of the city first."

With the beasts clear from her vicinity, Tifa activated her restore materia and immediately healed herself. Her rib remained sore, and some of her cuts were still open, but she now had enough strength to join Cloud in battle.

"The WRO forces are here," Cloud informed her. "Let's push these elfadunks back."

Tifa nodded and followed him as they gave chase to the stampede. Cloud's sudden appearance and Omnislash barrage had sent the entire herd reeling back toward the east. With the herd on the run, the two kept their attacks to a minimum, only doing so to accelerate the creatures' exit when a few of the beasts slowed down. Soon enough, the pack that Tifa and Cloud had been chasing joined in with the other packs that the WRO troops had forced back, and the elfadunks stormed out of Edge as quickly as they had stormed in.

Cloud's phone rang once the last of the beasts had crossed back out of the city's limits. He answered, making sure to press the "speaker" button for Tifa to hear the conversation.

"Reeve," Cloud greeted.

"I just got the report from one of my commanders that they're gone," Reeve gave the update. "You and Tifa go back home. The WRO will take care of the unconscious beasts still in the city."

"Thanks, Reeve," Tifa said.

"Are you two all right?" Reeve asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Tifa answered.

"What do you know about this attack?" Cloud interjected.

"Unfortunately, nothing at the moment," Reeve responded. "The WRO will investigate it, and I'll let you know what we find."

"Got it, thank you," Cloud said and hung up the phone before turning to Tifa. "You okay?"

She nodded, just beginning to process the details of their fight against the elfadunks.

"Let's go home, then," he declared. "We'll treat your injuries there."

Cloud took her hand and started guiding them in the direction of Seventh Heaven. As the events of the last few minutes became clearer, Tifa realized what he had done once more.

"Thank you, Cloud," she said, turning to him with a smile. "You saved me again."

It was a smile that he was happy to return.

* * *

Cloud sat at his desk and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He was lucky to have arrived when he did, and he was even luckier to have built up and conserved his limit break through the battles he fought along the way home from Junon. He was about to unleash Omnislash on another pack of beasts when he received Reeve's call about the attack on Edge, and once Reeve informed him that Tifa had been notified, Cloud knew that she was guaranteed to have jumped into battle.

It did not take him long to spot her, and while previous battle experience instantly told him that Tifa was not at any risk of succumbing to her injuries, the sight of her being bruised was still enough to send a twinge of guilt coursing through his body. He instinctively questioned whether or not she would be in this state if he had left Junon sooner, but quickly put that thought aside to focus on the battle at hand. After it ended though, the nagging guilt of not arriving earlier still crept into his thoughts, and as much as he tried to dismiss it while healing Tifa's injuries, he found it impossible to do so.

It irritated him that, despite his best efforts since he was healed of Geostigma, guilt still bothered him this way. Even though he had arrived on time, even though he would not have lost Tifa, and even though Tifa had genuinely thanked and acknowledged him for rescuing her the way he always vowed to do, the belief that he could have done more refused to leave him alone. He tried to ignore the feeling during dinner and when he put the children to bed, but he could not. Now he was trying to plan out his delivery routes for the next day, but found himself simply staring down at his map, still unable to shake the feeling off.

"Cloud?" Tifa's voice interrupted him from his thoughts, and he looked up from his desk to see her standing at the door to his office. "Hey, I just wanted to thank you again for being there today."

"You don't need to, Teef," he replied with a smile.

"I do," she insisted. "You're still showing me that you're fulfilling that promise I lumped on you."

"Come on, Teef," he said. "We've been through this. You never lumped it on me."

"Still feels like it," she responded in a voice that sounded like she was trailing off.

There was a brief moment of silence as she seemed to be contemplating her next words. Cloud tried to read her expression and detected a hint of uncertainty, which started piquing his curiosity.

"But I'm glad to have you back home," she finally said before he could gather together what he was thinking. "Thanks again, Cloud."

She turned to leave, but her body language suggested that something was bothering her. While Cloud was not the best at reading body language, he knew Tifa well enough to sense when a thought was troubling her to the point where she could no longer hide it.

"Tifa, wait," he gently called after her. "What's the matter?"

He saw her turn back in his direction with a puzzled stare, trying to put on a face of confusion at his question to mask her emotions.

"I know you're troubled," Cloud told her soothingly. "Come on, come in and talk to me."

He watched as she half-reluctantly walked into his office, slightly shutting the door and taking a seat at the corner of his bed. He tried to read her eyes, but they gave away nothing other than the fact that she was deep in thought.

"Cloud, can I ask you a question, and can you be completely honest with me?" Tifa spoke.

"Sure," he answered. "What is it?"

She took a deep breath.

"Am I…am I losing my edge as a fighter?" she asked.

He gave her a slight look of bewilderment before he could catch himself.

"No," Cloud replied sincerely. "Why would you think that?"

Tifa hesitated once more before speaking.

"What happened today…" she began. "Cloud, what happened today was discouraging. These weren't dragons. These were elfadunks, and I…I couldn't beat them."

Cloud had a feeling this was where she would lead, but he refused to make assumptions.

"There were hundreds of them," he reminded her. "Low level or not, hundreds can pack a punch."

"Yeah, but you had no problems," she informed him.

"I had my limit break," he responded. "You would've beaten them back as well if yours was ready."

"Yeah, but…" she continued, and he could see some more doubt creep into her voice. "I should have, but I let them hit me with their shower attack."

"You didn't let them, Teef," he reassured her. "In the heat of battle, it happens sometimes."

He could see that his words were starting to somewhat sink in, but the skepticism was still present throughout her entire posture. Cloud got up from his desk chair and walked over to sit beside her on his bed, taking her hand in his.

"Tifa," he said, lowering the pitch of his voice to sound as soothing as possible. "You're not losing your edge. You're rusty."

Her head tilted up, and she gave him another puzzled stare.

"You're rusty," he repeated, trying to sound confident in his choice of words. "You train all the time, but you haven't fought frequently since Meteorfall. You just need to remind yourself that you can still fight."

"But can I though?" she asked. "I mean, between this and…losing to Loz…"

Hearing that name gave Cloud a brief pang of uneasiness, but he quickly brushed it away in front of her. He should have had sensed that she would still be upset by her most recent defeat prior to today.

"Like I said, it's rust," he responded. "Besides breaking up bar fights, you hadn't been in a major fight in two years until recently."

She lowered her head to reflect on his words, and for the first time since she entered his office, Cloud felt a slight amount of hope reentering her.

"You'll be fine, Tifa," he comforted her. "These fights that you've been in lately will help you shake off some of that rust. I'll even help you if you want to start training together again."

At his suggestion, the smile he loved returned to her face again. She tilted her head against his and gave him a soft peck on his lips in appreciation.

"Thank you, Cloud, again," she acknowledged. "You always seem to know what to say."

He released her hand as she got back up onto her feet. She stood with her back turned toward him for a moment, gathering her thoughts in a way that he could not read, then headed toward the door. She looked back at him as if wanting to ask him something else before settling on giving him a smile of satisfaction.

"We're both pretty tired, hmm?" she asked. "Let's get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"

"Yeah," he grinned back at her. "Good night, Tifa."

He watched her leave his office with what seemed like a slight sense of unwillingness, returning to the master bedroom. Despite this, a feeling of fulfillment finally washed over him and helped dispel the guilt from earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not expect this chapter to be so long, but I just kept adding details so no stone would be left unturned. Did you enjoy it? Please let me know. Hope to see you again in the next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the last chapter was really action-heavy and did not focus too much on communication struggles, but as I said, it will tie back to the main theme. In the meantime, please enjoy Chapter 9.

One week passed with no major disruptions to Edge, much to the delight of all its residents. Cloud continued to make his rounds throughout the city and its vicinity, choosing to remain in the area for the past week without considering another long-distance delivery. When his clients from cities far away asked about his availability, Cloud simply explained to them that he wanted to make sure his family was fully settled in the aftermath of the elfadunk attack before resuming his travels to other parts of the planet.

Despite having offered to train with Tifa, the opportunity to do so had yet to present itself. For the past week, the two of them had been rising at different times in the morning with neither willing to disturb the other upon getting out of bed, choosing instead to respect the other's need and/or desire to rest for a little while longer. Thus, morning training sessions were tackled alone, and by the time the other party had awakened, breakfast had to be made before the children arrived downstairs. There were no chances for evening sessions either; both were usually ready to pass out by the time their daily responsibilities were completed.

However, today would be different. Prior to retiring the previous evening, Cloud mentioned to Tifa again about training together, and she had agreed to get up at a set time with him so they could finally make it happen. He knew she would make due on their agreement when he heard movement in the master bedroom shortly after rolling out of bed, so Cloud quickly put on his workout clothes—a simple white t-shirt and athletic shorts—and headed to the garage. It was not until he arrived and inspected the equipment that he realized he had no concrete plan for how exactly they would train.

Tifa entered the garage when Cloud was holding onto the punching bag, still pondering over how he would approach their first session together.

"Morning, Cloud!" she called from behind him. "Ready to roll?"

He turned to face her and gave her a quick one-over, taking in the sight of her in a white sleeveless tank top that hugged the curves of her upper body, much akin to the top she wore during her AVALANCHE days. Her midriff was bare as always, revealing her perfectly toned abdominal muscles. Her tight training shorts covered nothing past the top half of her upper leg, exposing the rest of her legs down to her ankles. He was glad that he had gotten at least somewhat used to seeing her in such attire; otherwise, he could imagine being too distracted to train at all.

"You bet!" he responded, trying to exude some degree of confidence.

"How do you want to do this?" she asked.

He had no immediate answer, but quickly decided that he would keep the ball in her court.

"How do you usually train these days?" came his reply.

"Well, I still attack that bag you're holding," she said, pausing before adding, "a lot."

"In that case…" Cloud answered, walking over to the boxing pads and putting them on, "…how about you warm up by hitting me instead?"

He saw a cheeky grin form on Tifa's face and instantly breathed a mental sigh of relief. She grabbed her boxing gloves and suited herself up, then struck her pose as though she was readying an attack.

"Can you handle me, Cloud?" she asked, playfully teasing.

"I guess we'll see," he responded, holding his padded hands up, ready to receive her blows.

She started off with some soft punches to the pads at eye level, switching it up every few seconds by aiming at other parts of his body, to which he easily blocked. After about half a minute, she began adding in some kicks at various levels, swinging her feet in the same swift motion he had seen thousands of times.

"Come on, Tifa," Cloud uttered, attempting to encourage her. "Come at me. I can take it."

She nodded, giving him a much more powerful one-two combo before instantly pushing forward with a spinning kick. His pads absorbed every blow as his arms responded impulsively to all of her movements; thanks to years of combat experience, his body was trained to almost instinctively successfully defend whatever attacks came his way long before his mind could process them. She continued with her attacks, growing more aggressive in trying to find some manner to break through his defenses. While his body kept reacting to her accordingly, Cloud found himself smiling internally at seeing her competitive edge starting to surface.

Then, it finally happened. As one of his arms was raised to defend her from a swiveling kick, she surprised him instead by launching her opposite leg forward, connecting directly with his chest. The move sent him tumbling down to the training mat, crashing his back against the semi-soft surface before he could brace his arms for impact.

"Cloud!" he heard her exclaim, and in an instant, she was crouched above him.

He found it amusing that she actually thought for a brief moment that she had hurt him. He knew it was just part of her nature to respond in such a manner, and he always appreciated that about her. However, seeing as how they were in the middle of a training session in which she was growing more competitive, he thought he would have a little fun with her.

He allowed a few seconds to pass before giving her a slight smirk.

"Tifa," he finally spoke up. "I'm fine. Did you forget?"

Before she could even form a look of confusion at what his question was asking about, he placed his boxing pads around her waist and flipped her over so that her back was now on the mat. Without giving her any time to react, he placed his own body over hers at an angle in which her legs could not reach up to shove him away and held her arms down with his still-padded hands.

"I'm Cloud Strife," he reminded her. "It takes more than just a kick to the chest to hurt me."

To both his delight and relief, she gave him a soft giggle.

"I'll remember that next time," she replied, flashing him her trademark smile.

He returned her smile and was about to let her go, but something inside of him stirred and prevented him from acting. He tried to sort these newfound thoughts out, but the sight in front of him was making it difficult to do so. All he saw was Tifa lying on the mat with his hands loosely pinning her arms down and his body slightly hovering over hers. She was looking up at him with her sparkling red eyes, panting from their first training session, and he found it impossible to look away. It was as though her eyes were luring him in, urging him to inch closer to her face and eliminate any distance between them. He started narrowing the gap, but quickly halted his advancement since even his most basic instincts knew it would not be right to take advantage of this particular situation.

However, her lack of response simply muddled his thoughts even more. He was, by no means, keeping her held against her will. Neither his body nor his hands were pressing her down; should she choose to, she could easily push upward, and he would be forced to let her rise, yet she simply lay there with her eyes glowing toward his, seemingly refusing to break her stare.

Seconds that felt like hours passed. Her breathing started relaxing a bit as their pause in training lingered. He knew he should say something, anything, to break the tension that was increasing seemingly exponentially by the moment, but he was at both a strange and familiar loss for words.

* * *

_The world underneath the moving train was passing by in a blur, but Cloud knew they had no other choice. Barrett had already jumped out, and now it was their turn._

_He looked over to Tifa. The hesitation in her eyes was obvious, but he also saw a glint of fear. She was desperately trying to hold a brave face, but her heavy breaths highlighted her distress. Unfortunately, there was no time to comfort her at the moment if they were to escape from this train alive._

_Cloud flashed her a look of determination and nodded, then wrapped his arms around her protectively and leaped from the open door, making sure to angle his body so that the sword on his back would hit the hard surface first. He felt the rough thump of the impact but kept his focus on clutching Tifa tightly as the momentum from their jump sent them rapidly rolling on their sides. Seconds later, they came to a stop in the same position that they had hit the ground in: him on his back and her on top._

_He placed his right hand, which he had used to halt their rolling, back on her while still clutching her with his left. She lifted her head, and for a brief second, their eyes met. His mind froze; she was tantalizingly close, and he was uncertain of what exactly she was pondering as she looked at him, but even as his thoughts on other matters continued to confuse him to no end, a brief moment of clarity flashed across his cognizance._

_He wanted to keep her clutched against him as if the very act of letting her go would endanger her life. He wanted to apologize to her for acting so rashly in jumping off the train without considering her feelings. He wanted to find any words at all that he could say to comfort her and reassure her that he would never stop protecting her, just as he had promised years ago. He wanted so desperately to understand her needs and put in his own effort to fulfill them._

_Sadly, the brevity of the moment passed, and all he could manage to utter was a clichéd question._

_"You okay?" he asked her._

_"Yeah," she answered while nodding, and he was certain that, based on the way she spoke, she also felt some of his tension during that brief moment._

_He gently lifted her off his body, instantly feeling the ache of coldness when her warmth was removed. Their eyes stayed glued to each other's for a few seconds longer though, filled with gratitude, relief, and puzzlement, but their enemies soon showed up and denied them of any opportunities to figure their thoughts out._

* * *

The state of confusion continued permeating the atmosphere as time ticked by. Cloud remained speechless; despite moving his mouth as though he wanted to speak every few seconds, no words came out. Finally, unwilling to allow the tension to cause her any more discomfort, he lifted away from her and began dusting himself off to distract his mind from his own uncertainties. Tifa soon followed suit with the same actions.

They spent the next ten minutes training together in relative silence, which wound up being rather ineffective as they simply went through the motions. Cloud continued trying to motivate her with a few words of inspiration, but they came out sounding forced, and he knew she sensed the inadvertent partial emptiness of his attempts. Once it was over, they retreated to the bathrooms to shower, saying nothing to each other besides the standard remarks of gratitude for the session.

He and Tifa made sure that the conversation at breakfast was focused almost exclusively on Marlene and Denzel, and the atmosphere was relaxed enough that Cloud hoped neither of them could pick up on the sudden awkwardness hanging in the air between the two adults. With a schedule packed full of deliveries for the day, he had no time to pull Tifa aside to talk even if he actually figured out what he needed to say. Thus, once breakfast was over, Cloud gave the other three a simple, hasty good-bye before hopping on Fenrir and driving toward his first assignment.

He made his deliveries without incident throughout the day, since he was both experienced and efficient enough to not let any personal sentiments interfere with his professional duties. However, thoughts about what happened in the morning refused to leave him alone, and the longer the discomfort lingered in his mind, the more he was baffled by why it even occurred in the first place. He and Tifa should be relaxed enough around each other by now to avoid these situations or at least clear the air when they did happen; after all, they had already gone on a date that went smoothly, even sharing a kiss at the end, so why was he still bothered by such a moment?

The question still hung in the air when he started realizing something else far more troubling: he had agreed to help with her training because she felt she was losing her edge as a fighter, but by putting her in a defeated position and keeping her there, he may have taken away even more of her confidence. Suddenly, it no longer mattered how he felt for tangling the two of them in such an awkward moment. Suddenly, it seemed terribly selfish for him to act so playfully without even considering the potential consequences for her, and he mentally cursed at himself for it. She trusted him to make her stronger, not weaker, and he did not fulfill what he had set out to do.

He decided then and there that he would need to find another way to make it up to her.

* * *

Tifa filled the plate with Cloud's dinner, covered it up with foil, and set it on the kitchen counter. Cloud had called her late in the afternoon to let her know that he would not make home until well after the bar closed, meaning she would be leaving a plate for him to eat separately.

"Last call!" Tifa announced to the few remaining patrons. Minutes later, all of them had finished their drinks, paid their gil, and headed out into the Edge night.

As she locked the door, Tifa found her attention drifting back to what happened during her training with Cloud in the morning. She had been thinking about it throughout the day whenever she had a brief respite: the way his eyes reflected his excitement, the way he pushed her to exert her best effort, the way he playfully teased her when he pinned her to the ground, and the unexpected and inexplicable turn of events that led to their brief, uneasy staring session. She recalled the mixture of emotions that washed over her when he gave her that look: initial confusion over his sudden lack of action, yearning for him to physically close the space separating them, increased frustration as the seconds ticked by without any movement on his end, and a final desire to reach up and pull him down herself combined with the reluctance that held her back. She could see the same combination of uneasiness and longing in his eyes, which was why she could not gather enough wits to look away from him or even make a move herself as she waited for something to happen.

It was disappointing when, in the end, nothing more actually happened. The moment lingered even as they continued to train, and while she tried to pick herself up through his words of encouragement, she could not shake the feeling of déjà vu. When they had their date slightly over a week ago, he had pulled away from her at the end, and he did it again this morning after getting her in such a relaxed mood while they were training. Questions about why this continued to happen had been running through her mind at sporadic moments all day, but no answers seemed to ever reach them and put them to rest.

The day after their date, stories from Marlene and Denzel had served as the perfect diversion to convince her that any unclear feelings she held would eventually be sorted out. However, since then, she and Cloud had yet to have any talks about such matters. Now, with the children in bed and no other stories to distract her, Tifa realized that she would need to be the one to initiate the necessary conversation or her questions would never find their answers. She did not know how she would approach this, but she at least had to try.

Tifa finished her remaining work at the bar and headed upstairs. She brushed, showered, and changed into her sleepwear, but instead of going straight to bed, she walked to Cloud's office and sat at his desk. She knew she would need time to think through what she would say to him; she wanted to be honest, but she was also still full of uncertainty about her some of own emotions, and her last wish was to have that uncertainty confound him more.

She sat and waited, trying to mentally form an outline of her mixture of feelings to deliver to Cloud when he came home. Gradually, the picture started becoming clearer, but at the same time, it felt as though it was also turning somewhat unrealistic, which baffled her even more.

* * *

_Tifa had no idea where she was or how she got caught in this situation. All she knew was that she was trapped. The giant dragon was on her heels, and the flames coming from its nostrils were so strong that she could still feel the heat against her back in between breaths._

_Tifa quickened her pace, digging deeper to find any energy she had yet to exert and plowing through it for one final attempt to outrun the dragon. It seemed to work when the heat from its breaths started fading along with its roars, but she simply did not have enough stamina to continue running. Gasping for air, she collapsed beside a large boulder, looking around for any alternatives she could use to survive._

_She spotted a cave and crawled her way toward it as rapidly as she could. There was no light inside, so she could not make out how deep it was; thus, to be safe, she could only hide just out of the monster's sight. She sat with her back against the cave wall, heaving in swift succession, desperate for oxygen._

_Her hopes were smashed—literally—with a loud crashing sound. As she looked up, the dragon's tail swooped over her, destroying the mountain that housed the cave and openly revealing her. Its menacing eyes turned toward her, and it inhaled, preparing the deathblow. Too drained to run or hide, all Tifa could do was cower, bracing herself for the impact to come._

_A sudden blur of yellow flashed before her eyes and stopped between her and the dragon. As the creature launched its final attack, Tifa peeked and saw the figure raise its sword, deflecting the flames back to hit the dragon squarely in its eyes. The beast writhed in pain, and the figure took advantage to launch into a flurry of attacks, slashing the creature in enough ways to carve it into pieces. Unable to fight back from the speed of the figure's sword, the dragon collapsed with a whimper, losing consciousness._

_The figure sheathed his sword and turned around to look at her, wearing a smile of satisfaction. Tifa's eyes widened in pure euphoria as he approached her._

_"Are you all right, Tifa?" her savior asked affectionately, leaning down to check on her._

_"Yes, Cloud," she nodded in return, unable to drop her beaming expression even if she tried._

_He placed one arm under her knees and another around her back, lifting her up._

_"Come on," he said. "Let's go home."_

_Tifa rested her head against his SOLDIER uniform, looping one arm around his neck while running her other hand through his blond locks before placing her palm over his heart._

_"My blond knight" she spoke softly. "You kept your promise. You came back for me."_

* * *

"Cloud," Tifa whispered, leaning slightly into his chest.

Cloud looked down at her in his arms and stopped in his tracks, but did not respond. He found it strange when he entered Seventh Heaven and saw that the only light on was the one in his office, so he decided to check first before grabbing his dinner. That was where he found Tifa asleep while hunched over his desk.

She had whispered his name as he picked her up, but since she did not stir awake, he simply brushed it off as dream speak. Originally, he intended to carry her back to the master bedroom, but not wanting to risk waking her and disturbing her slumber, he decided to tuck her into his bed instead. He was certain that she would not mind if they traded beds for one evening.

He placed his covers over her and gave her another look, brushing a stray strand of hair aside to reveal her face. He could feel his heart beating faster at the sight of her peacefully sleeping figure, and he found some renewed vigor to help her restore the confidence that she had lost in herself. She deserved to be in the highest of spirits again, and he was now more determined than he had been that morning to see her back at that level.

Cloud stepped back out into the hallway, leaving his office door slightly ajar. He vowed he would not return home from his next delivery until he could figure out how to help Tifa regain her edge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for Tifa's "blond knight" dream comes from two email messages she sends Zack in Crisis Core. In the first, Tifa writes about how "any girl would love to have a blond SOLDIER guy protect her when she's in a pinch" and how "it's no good just waiting for my blond knight in shining armor to show up, so I've started learning how to fight, myself." In the second, she simply asks Zack not to mention the blond guy to anyone else in SOLDIER. I decided to write her a clichéd fantasy dream of being rescued by her knight during a dragon attack.
> 
> Anyway, how did you enjoy this chapter? Please let me know any thoughts you may have. As always, I love hearing from you. See you next time!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may feel a little chaotic, since it jumps around quite a bit and seems to suddenly bring some familiar names into the story for the first time, but just like any moments that might feel out of place in previous chapters, everything will be tied together into the main theme as the story continues. I hope you'll enjoy it. Now, onward!

As her eyes opened the next morning, Tifa was met with a few seconds of confusion. The room was certainly not her own, and the point of view did not match the one she remembered before she had lost consciousness the previous evening. However, once she realized that she was sleeping in Cloud's office and that he had moved her to his bed, her confusion quickly changed to slight disappointment at herself for failing to remain awake by the time he came home.

Never one to be dissuaded, Tifa got up and walked back to the master bedroom, expecting to see Cloud. Instead, all she found was a bed that he had obviously slept in; it was made the same way that the bed in his office was made every day. Determined to find him first, she decided to temporarily put off her morning routine and, after peeking into the children's room to find Marlene and Denzel still asleep, headed downstairs into the bar first.

Upon arrival though, rather than seeing Cloud there, she was greeted by a note in his handwriting.

_"Hey, Teef, sorry I missed you this morning. Client in Junon called right before I got home last night, says he's willing to pay double for my deliveries if I meet him today. I'll be back tomorrow night for dinner. Call you when I get to Junon."_

Tifa sighed, feeling discontented again at yet another missed opportunity to clear the air and push their relationship forward. As patient as she was, she would be lying if she said there were not moments when she wished that they could simply get out of this limbo that they seemed to be stuck in.

* * *

_"Tifa?" Marlene spoke, redirecting the barmaid's attention just as she was ready to leave the little girl's room. "Are you and Cloud…together?"_

_That sudden question caught her off-guard._

_"What do you mean?" Tifa asked the five-year-old, trying her best to feign naivete._

_"You know, together," Marlene reiterated. "Are you two together?"_

_It took a few seconds for Tifa to realize that the girl's question carried far more weight than its simplicity would indicate. While she wished that Marlene actually meant something else—perhaps something more innocent and playful—Tifa knew better than to doubt the sharp young girl._

_Marlene had every right to find the answer to such a question. Life had become somewhat normal for the three of them: the new Seventh Heaven was doing well, and Cloud had found his footing in his newly established delivery service. On the surface, they seemed like a family that had risen from the ashes of Meteor to live the way everyone desired. There was no doubt that this normalcy had dawned on Marlene, and she was growing increasingly happier with their situation._

_However, beneath the surface, the waters were far muddier. While she and Cloud had done what they could to move on from the ghosts of their past, such events were not so easily forgotten. Guilt still weighed Tifa down from time to time over whether or not she actually deserved this life, even though she had already vowed that she would live and only face her day of judgment whenever it actually came._

_Additionally, while she and Cloud shared a roof over their heads, they had never actually cleared up what exactly their relationship status was. She knew they harbored feelings for each other, having realized such feelings in the leadup to Meteor, but with their primary focus being the fight to defeat Sephiroth and the rebuilding of their lives in the aftermath, any talk about their personal relationship was pushed far off to the side. Plenty of time had passed since then, and even though everything had seemed to settle down, they had still yet to converse about such matters._

_"I…don't know, Marlene," Tifa finally decided to give the girl an honest answer. "I really don't know right now."_

_She knew what Marlene was seeking with such a question. After all the chaotic uncertainties that no five-year-old should ever experience, the little girl was hoping that Tifa could give her an affirmative response to confirm that their familial situation now had clarity. Instead, Tifa could only provide her with the ambiguity she was hoping that they had already steered clear of._

_"Oh," came Marlene's voice with a frown. "I hope you are though."_

_A twinge of disappointment hit Tifa. She could never lie to Marlene, but this did not mean that her answer felt satisfying._

_"I hope so too, Marlene," Tifa remarked. "I hope so too."_

* * *

It was almost noon by the time Cloud arrived in Junon. The trip should not have taken him so long, but trouble found him en route when he was ambushed by some of the wildlife. The attacks were not strange—he was fully acclimated with the planet's creatures harassing him wherever he went, and such disruptions did tend to delay his long-distance deliveries from time to time—but the sheer size and aggressiveness of such attacks raised a few small alarms.

He spent a good amount of time wondering what could have happened in the week since he last made a long-distance delivery and whether or not the increased aggressiveness among these monsters was connected in some manner to the elfadunk stampede on Edge that he and Tifa had helped to repel. Reeve had promised to update him, but Cloud had yet to hear back from the WRO founder.

He had called Tifa immediately upon arrival as promised, although not much was said between the two of them, since he needed to reach his client to begin the tasks at hand. After a few deliveries within Junon, his client finally granted him a brief respite during the mid-afternoon hours. Cloud still found it rather strange that he had clients around the world who preferred to summon him all the way from Edge to make local deliveries instead of hiring another delivery service nearby, even after he continued to be unpredictable with his frequently changing schedules, but he would never complain about the increase in business.

Once he was on his break, Cloud initially wanted to contact Tifa and ask her about why he had found her asleep at his desk the previous evening, but he quickly dismissed the idea out of realization that such questions were likely better suited for an in-person conversation. He wanted to find out from her in the morning, but he knew the chance of her being up earlier than he needed to be was small, and with his client waiting for him in Junon, any lengthy conversations would have needed to be saved for another time. He decided to set his curiosity aside for the moment, knowing that if it was urgent, she would have given him a call after she had awakened and mentioned it to him while he was on his way to Junon.

Choosing to do something productive during his break, Cloud went shopping instead. After two years of work, the first schools in Edge were finally set to open their doors next week, and Marlene and Denzel still needed supplies. Edge had its fair share of shops, but none had the selection of Junon's upper district.

Cloud browsed through the shops, purchasing the standard essentials with the extra gil that he had just earned from his client that morning. He then took time to organize all the supplies into the two backpacks that he had bought: a pink chocobo-themed one for Marlene and a blue motorcycle-themed one for Denzel. Once the children were taken care of, he picked up a few bottles of wine not sold in Edge that he knew Tifa was fond of before temporarily returning to the room at his inn to drop everything off.

What he did not expect was the figure who greeted him as soon as he entered the inn.

"Cloud Strife," the muscular man acknowledged the moment their eyes met, and Cloud quickly found that it was more surprising to see him properly dressed rather than just the sight of him alone. "My, my, it's been a while. How've you been, young man?"

Cloud simply smiled and nodded back in response.

"Hey, Dio."

* * *

A busy evening at Seventh Heaven was nothing new. It was just out of the ordinary for one to occur this evening on what was usually a quiet day of the week. As luck would have it, the one evening when Cloud was unexpectedly away was the evening that Tifa found herself needing to constantly be in multiple places at once. It almost felt as though her customers had all planned to storm Seventh Heaven together purely to make her life more difficult.

All but one table was occupied, and every seat at the bar area was full. Then, after every customer departed, another would fill that seat immediately. Tifa was glad that both Marlene and Denzel were helping out with the tables, but only she could tend to the cooking and drink mixing duties. Apologies for delays in service were frequently uttered; thankfully, many of those present were Seventh Heaven's reasonable regulars who had seen their fair share of busy nights, and they were more than happy to sing her praises to the other guests to dissolve any impatience that had permeated into the air.

"I have to say, Tifa, you've certainly become a lot more cheerful since Geostigma ended and Cloud returned," one of her regulars remarked after she had handed him a beer.

"Is that so?" Tifa replied in a friendly tone while she started to mix another customer's drink, only giving the speaker a brief flash of eye contact.

"Yeah," the regular affirmed. "I didn't want to bring it up the last time I came here, but the mood in this place seemed so devoid the happiness we all knew and loved."

She cringed internally at his remark. It appeared as though, despite her best efforts to keep the mood of the bar festive, the effects of Cloud's departure had rippled straight through her and into the bar's atmosphere.

"I'm just really glad Geostigma is over with and he's home," Tifa responded, giving him a brief smile before returning to the beverage she was mixing.

No more was said, and Tifa knew it was because, like many of her regulars, this guest was both observant enough to see how preoccupied she was with the other patrons and reasonable enough to know her boundaries. It still surprised her, but she considered it a blessing to have so many frequent customers who always chose to limit their conversations to small talk, never prying too deeply into aspects of her life that she cared not to share with anyone outside of the family. Part of this was certainly because she would watch their drink limits at all times, usually stopping her service when she felt that they were nearing the border between tipsy and smashed, but most of it was due to her being lucky enough to have such considerate patrons.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the next two people who walked through the door. Just as she finished making the beverage and placing it in front of her guest, the bar's entrance swung open to reveal the figures of Reno and Rude. Slightly caught off guard by their unexpected visit, Tifa gave them a stare that lasted a bit longer than she wanted, watching as they helped themselves to the empty table without even asking if it was reserved.

A quick glance around the room told her that she had taken care of all her guests' needs at that moment. She spotted Marlene and Denzel talking with a family at the table farthest from the door and, upon making eye contact with the children, quickly gestured her head in the direction of the kitchen. They looked over toward the newcomers, understood immediately, and headed inside.

Tifa strolled out of the bar area and approached the duo.

"How can I help you two today?" she asked in a tone that was both cautiously optimistic and wary.

"Spritzer for me," Reno answered.

"Same," Rude followed.

Tifa nodded in acknowledgement and turned to walk back to the bar.

"What, that's it?" came Reno's voice behind her. "Not even a 'hi' for your old friends?"

She paused just slightly, smelling his bait. Had it been a less busy night, she might have considered amusing herself with taking it and seeing where he was trying to lead her, but with a packed house to watch over, she chose to continue walking away.

"Wow, and here I thought you were more gracious," Reno continued. "This is the thanks we get for saving you two."

She tried to ignore that comment for the time being, focusing instead on getting their drinks prepared. As irritating as the duo could be, she knew they were not the type to escalate any situations with other customers around. Once she was finished, Tifa brought them their spritzers, servicing them with nothing more than the ordinary "here you go" that she gave all of her customers.

"Really, Lockhart?" Reno spoke up before she could turn away again. "We haven't seen you since you chewed Strife out, and you're not even going to ask why we're here?"

After a brief pause, Tifa finally decided to humor them a little.

"Why bother asking?" she said with a cold shoulder. "You'll just tell me when you feel like it."

"She knows us well," Rude gave one of his rare comments.

"That she does, partner," Reno added, choosing to say nothing more afterward.

Tifa walked back to the bar, resuming her duties to her other customers. For the remainder of the evening, the Turks drank slowly and in an uneasy silence, never once asking her over for anything. She tried her best to ignore their presence as much as she could, knowing that it was impossible to do so completely but still possible to be successful enough so as not to disrupt her other responsibilities. She even re-summoned Marlene and Denzel for help, fully trusting that the two understood not to approach the Turks. Thankfully, Reno and Rude seemed to know where their own boundaries lay as well, never once trying to bait the children into conversations.

Eventually, as the evening rush ended and the last customer left, she walked back to the table that the Turks were still occupying.

"If you want my thanks," she spoke first as she grabbed their empty glasses off the table, "your drinks tonight are on the house. Don't push your luck expecting anything more though."

Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Rude took out a handful of gil and placed it on the table.

"We just want a favor," Reno said.

She figured they did and eyed them suspiciously.

"Boss told us you fought the elfadunks a week ago," he continued. "We just wanted to know if you'll give us any information you hear from the WRO."

That sounded far too innocent coming from the Turks.

"Can't you get that information directly from them yourselves?" Tifa asked before she could second guess her thoughts.

"What do you think we're trying to do right now?" Reno replied.

She found that difficult to believe, but chose not to press them further about it.

"What's in it for you, then?" she followed up with instead.

"We just do what the boss asks of us," Reno answered.

It was the response she expected, and even though she wanted to outright reject their proposal, it did not feel right to do so. While she did not consider the Turks to be friends, they had done enough for both her and Cloud to convince her that they were at least no longer the sworn enemies they started as once upon a time. Thus, she decided to give the only answer that seemed suitable.

"I'm not making any promises," she said, hoping that it was satisfying enough to get them off her back.

"I thought you'd say that," Reno responded with his trademark grin that was both snarky and unreadable at the same time.

To Tifa's relief, the two stood up and walked out of Seventh Heaven without uttering another word, but left the gil on the table to remind her that they had rejected her initial offer of gratitude. All Tifa could do was collect the money and tend to her clean-up routine.

Thoughts about what exactly the Turks were seeking continued to plague her mind for the remainder of the evening.

* * *

_Panic gripped Tifa as she ran around the top of the structure, desperately trying to dodge Reno's attacks. Sparks, smoke, and the sounds of helicopter bullets rained down onto the platform, but all she could hear was the alarm coming from the computer nearby._

_"Plate separation authorized," it blared. "Awaiting confirmation."_

_She tried to attack Reno with a flurry of kicks and punches, but he blocked almost every one of her strikes. She knew he was quick, but she did not expect him to be this agile._

_A thunderous crash caught both her and Reno's attention. Barret had shot down the helicopter that Rude had been piloting. Seeing his partner in trouble, Reno slammed his foot directly into Tifa's midsection to knock her out of the way and bolted through the flames to the spot of the crash._

_Another battle ensued when both of them re-emerged from the flames. Everything happened so quickly that it all became one giant blur. Tifa remembered landing a few critical punches on both Turks but also being struck by Reno multiple times in various parts of her body while he goaded her with insults._

_Then, in the blink of an eye, her worst fears were realized._

_"Plate separation initiated," came the voice from the computer. "Commencing separation sequence. Section 1 separation imminent. Evacuate immediately."_

_Tifa had no time to even gather what just happened. All she heard was the roar of Barret's voice._

_"You son of a bitch!" he cried. "What have you done!?"_

_She watched Rude rush to Reno, picking him up and boarding their escape chopper. She found herself hustling to the computer, confounded by all the keys while its sirens continued to blare. The screen flashed on, showing Tseng, who was now openly taunting her for her futility._

_"Tifa! I found Marlene!" came Aerith's voice in the middle of Tseng's scoffs. "Run! You have to go now!"_

_The monitor darkened. The plate above her was starting to crumble. Several pieces of debris landed all around her, and she felt as though she could not move. Everything was literally falling apart, and hope was fading rapidly._

_"Hey! Over here!" Barrett screamed. "I found us a way out!"_

_Tifa's legs churned toward Barret. At the edge, with one final burst, she leaped onto his back. As they slid down the ropeway, deafening explosions completely filled their immediate surroundings. Huge chunks of concrete and steel rained from the sky, setting everything around them ablaze and crushing everyone below who failed to escape in time._

_A blast of heat rocked Tifa from behind, propelling her forward through the narrow gates that divided Sector 7 from 6 and onto the asphalt below. She hit the pavement hard, rolling forward until a fallen slab of concrete stopped her momentum. Her head was ringing from both the noise and the impact of her escape and collapse, but once again, Barret's booming voice overrode all the other distractions._

_"Marlene!" she heard him crying. "Marlene!"_

_She got back up to her feet, glancing around at the wanton destruction that now littered the area around her. Fires continued to burn, and any signs of a once-thriving settlement had been completely erased. She slowly approached Barret, catching the cracking of his voice._

_"Marlene!" he screamed. "Biggs! Wedge! Jessie!"_

_It had all happened so rapidly that it was hard to comprehend her sudden reality. Her bar was obliterated. The entire Sector 7 was gone. Friends' lives were lost. All of this was because of…_

_An abrupt realization interrupted her chain of thoughts. Tifa glanced around once more, and her heart instantly sank even deeper._

_"Wait a minute," she whispered loudly. "Where's Cloud?"_

* * *

"Cloud!" she called out, regaining consciousness.

Tifa's eyes snapped open and were met by the red "3:30" numbers on her alarm clock. It was another nightmare that she had experienced far too many times to count, and she had long grown beyond distraught from having to relive such trauma through her subconscious. Sector 7's demise just would not stop haunting her, and she knew precisely why: in addition to the unfathomable devastation that took away her second home and countless lives, she could never wash away the guilt of having played a role in dooming the sector to Shinra's remorselessness. She still refused to admit it, but deep down, she realized that the moment would likely follow her for the rest of her life.

However, what snapped her awake this time was neither the destruction nor the realization in its aftermath of what had transpired. Instead, it was that Cloud had been absent from the entire recollection of the event. Tifa found it odd, because unlike the nightmare of her fall down Mt. Nibel in which she did not remember seeing Cloud's face, Cloud had been starkly present for the complete saga surrounding Sector 7's catastrophe.

Once again, Tifa's emotions started running away with thoughts before she could reign them in. What exactly was her subconscious telling her by removing Cloud from this iteration of her nightmare? Why did she even re-experience this nightmare at this moment? Last night, her dreams were completely pleasant; how did it all change in just one day? Was it triggered by the presence of the Turks at the bar earlier in the evening? If so, would she be forced to relive it again the next time the Turks showed up? Was this a sign that she should have been sterner and less ambiguous in her response to their request?

The more her thoughts lingered on these questions, the more uneasiness welled up inside her heart. Tifa could only close her eyes and silently plead for the mercy of a peaceful sleep, but she also knew she would not be able to find such solace until her heart's nagging restlessness calmed itself down.

This was a side of herself that Tifa was not proud of. Although she had always outwardly concealed it quite well, the internal battles between a mixture of her thoughts and emotions frequently drove her state of mind into chaotic frenzies. There were plenty of days when she craved a satisfying release of such pent-up feelings, but with so many people dependent on her to maintain her aura of strength, such opportunities rarely came. Even when she chose to vent her frustrations, such as lashing out at Cloud for lamenting on his guilt, she almost always second guessed herself in hindsight.

Moments like this, when her emotions refused to offer her any semblance of peace, were always when Tifa felt as though her strength was no longer an asset. Given all the events that had transpired in her life, weakness was never an option for her to consider, but there had always been moments when she wished she could simply give into her desire for vulnerability and put herself at the mercy of her turmoil. Sadly, the strength that she had trained herself to consistently uphold for the good of those around her refused to permit her to acquiesce.

Pure exhaustion eventually overrode whatever unsettled conflicts that still lingered inside of her, and Tifa drifted back into a perturbed sleep for the remainder of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I portrayed Tifa's internal turmoil adequately. I wanted to write her in a way that makes her seem vulnerable while still keeping true to her character as an emotionally tough individual, because as we all know, Tifa almost never gives off a feeling of being helpless. I feel that it's suitable to write the ambiguous, love-hate relationship that she and Cloud have with the Turks as both a trigger for and reflection of this turmoil.
> 
> As usual, please feel free to share any thoughts you may have. I always love hearing from you. Thank you for reading once again, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I say this a lot, but I cannot thank you all enough for reading and providing me feedback. Your responses mean so much and serve as such an important motivating factor for me to keep writing. Thank you for your continued reading and, hopefully, enjoyment of this story!

There was quite a bit on Cloud's mind when he returned to Seventh Heaven the following day.

First, the monster attacks were still as intense on his way back home as they had been the previous day when he traveled to Junon. He ended up maximizing his limit break again as he fought through to Edge and was thankful that he did not need to use it this time to defend the city from another stampede, but with Reeve still silent on the WRO's investigation into the matter, the questions that both he and Tifa had would remain unanswered. He thought about calling Reeve for an update, but he ultimately decided against it, since he knew that the WRO's founder had far too much on his plate daily to be interrupted by a relatively mundane request, especially since Reeve had already informed Cloud that he would reach out if any news came in.

However, his chance meeting with Dio the previous afternoon had yielded some good news, and he was eager to break it to Tifa to—if nothing else—see how she would react. He hoped that this would be a viable solution to help ease her concerns with what she saw as her declining abilities.

That revelation would have to wait though, because the moment he walked through the door, he was greeted by the site of Marlene and Denzel helping to prepare the bar for the evening rush. Their eyes lit up as soon as they turned around to face him, instantly revealing the signature smiles that he loved coming home to.

"Cloud!" they shouted, dropping their tasks and running toward him. "You're back early!"

Cloud placed the two large bags he was carrying down on a nearby table just in time to receive their simultaneous hugs with one child clinging from each side.

"Yup, I am," he affirmed. "I managed to finish all my deliveries in Junon just after lunch."

It did not matter how frequent or routine their greetings were. After the Geostigma crisis, Cloud indulged in their warm welcomes every time he returned, refusing to take either child for granted. He felt that, deep down, Marlene and Denzel would continue to worry that he might disappear on them again, and just as it was with Tifa, it would take a significant period of time before they would fully buy into his declaration of staying permanently.

"Did you bring us anything?" Denzel asked.

Cloud's grin broadened upon hearing this question. Once the children released their grasps on him, he picked up the large bag containing the school supplies he had purchased and handed it to Denzel.

"Why don't you take a look for yourselves?" he replied.

One glance inside was enough for both youngsters' eyes to widen. They gasped as they pulled the backpacks out, filling the bar with cries of excitement at seeing their new gear. They opened up their respective backpacks and found them stuffed full of various necessities: a binder for each, pens and pencils, coloring materials, notebooks, and even a calculator and dictionary. The excitement stayed high as both Marlene and Denzel dug through each item, marveling at both the similarities and differences between each other's. Once they finished exploring what they had just received, the two youngsters zipped up their backpacks, slung them over their shoulders, and admired one another's "prepared for school" pose.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Marlene exclaimed, reaching out and enveloping Cloud in another hug. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Yeah, thank you, Cloud!" Denzel followed suit. "We're going to be so ready for school."

Cloud returned their hugs, embracing their warmth for a second time. He had gotten so caught up in the children's excitement that he did not even notice Tifa's presence until Denzel directed his attention to her.

"Tifa!" he called. "Look at what Cloud got us!"

Marlene and Denzel ran to her and turned around so that their backpacks were facing her.

"Look! He got me a motorcycle one!" Denzel said.

"And I got a pink chocobo one!" Marlene followed.

"I know," Tifa responded with her trademark smile of affection. "I saw everything."

"Isn't Cloud the best?" Marlene asked.

"You know it!" Denzel answered before anyone else had the chance to.

Cloud felt his heart close to bursting from Denzel's quick response. A small part of him still questioned why the once-orphaned child would accept him back into the family after he had led the boy on such a roller coaster ride by bringing him into Seventh Heaven only to fail and abandon him, but he quickly dismissed the thought, giving himself another gentle reminder that they should be past that.

"All right, why don't you two go upstairs and organize your new supplies?" Tifa suggested. "Then you can come back and help me with the bar."

"Okay, Tifa," both children answered concurrently.

Cloud watched them scamper up to their room exerting the same amount of energy that they had when they greeted him moments ago. He turned to Tifa, who had yet to drop her smile.

"You really are good with them, you know," she commented. "Thank you for buying them what they need."

Never one to know how best to accept compliments, Cloud simply responded with a "hmm" and scratched the back of his neck.

"Why don't you go upstairs as well and shower?" Tifa suggested before Cloud could gather his next thoughts. "A few of your clients called your office number today. You might want to follow up with them when you're done."

"What about you?" he asked. "Need any help with the bar?"

"I'll be fine," she answered. "I'll let you know if I could use a hand with the evening rush."

He nodded his head in understanding, then remembered the other bag and its contents.

"Oh, Tifa?" he said, reaching back to grab the large sack. He walked up to her and handed it over. "Here, I picked up some things in Junon I thought you might like."

He watched her look inside, removing the wines and vegetables that he had purchased. There was a slight moment of uncertainty written on her face when she saw a few of the vegetables, and he knew he probably picked some that she did not anticipate; nonetheless, she did not ask him why or what he was thinking when he chose them. He would be the first to admit that he still needed help with selecting vegetables.

"You know just what I like," she remarked with a smile as she admired the wines. "Thank you, Cloud."

He nodded in appreciation. He debated whether or not to reveal the news he had from his meeting with Dio, but decided to put it off and not have it potentially burden her during the evening rush.

"I'll be upstairs if you need me," Cloud adhered to her suggestion, following the path that Marlene and Denzel took minutes ago, feeling her signature smile of appreciation from behind him.

* * *

There was still a lot running through Tifa's mind during and after the bar's busiest hours that evening. She had spent much of the day trying to repress the nightmare, even though she knew that she would never completely succeed. She also spent a few moments training, but that simply reminded her of the missed opportunity to address what still lingered between her and Cloud. Marlene and Denzel helped distract her from her own thoughts for a while when they returned from playing with their friends and shared their stories with her, but it was only a temporary interruption.

Cloud's early arrival was more than welcomed, and the sight of him interacting with the children finally granted her heart some much needed warmth over the haziness that had been dawdling within. For all the turmoil that Cloud had experienced in his past, one area that Tifa had always witnessed to be his strength was his relationship with children. He never talked down to them and never dismissed them as "just children"; he almost always made them feel as though their words mattered, and he valued their time and needs better than the average adult. It was why Marlene had grown fond of him incredibly quickly despite her rocky first impression, and it was why Denzel continued to view him as a hero even during a period when his own demons were dragging him down.

Purchasing the essentials that they needed for school and making sure that those essentials were what they would love—all without having to be requested to do so—further reinforced Tifa's view that Cloud knew how to care for children. Even as questions between the two of them still hung in the air, he continued to prove that she would never need to worry about the bond he had formed with Marlene and Denzel. In many ways, it was more often stronger than the frequently undefined bond that he shared with her.

The evening at the bar went by more smoothly than the previous one had. It was still busy, but not every seat remained full the entire time, and there were no Turks to cause any major distractions. Early on, Marlene and Denzel helped out in their usual manner, although Tifa alone could have handled the entire evening without any issues; thus, she never felt the need to summon for Cloud's help.

Still, the patrons did not stop coming, and the downside of a busy evening that led into the late hours was that the four of them could not sit together for dinner; as a result, when their meals were ready, Tifa had Marlene and Denzel take Cloud's food up to him and asked them to remain with him in his office so the three of them could enjoy their meals without distractions. She would manage to grab a bite of her own plate whenever she had a moment to spare, but for the most part, her patrons kept her occupied.

Denzel eventually brought three empty plates into the kitchen before heading back upstairs, and Tifa would not see either child again for the rest of the evening. With her patrons still entering and departing well past the children's regular bedtime, she trusted that Could would put them to bed just like he almost always did whenever he was home (she would simply check in on them after the bar closed). As a result, she was still contemplating what she had been wanting to address with Cloud ever since their awkward training moment a few mornings ago, but the amount of time that had passed since then, alongside all the other thoughts that had maneuvered their way into her mind between then and now, were making her question whether or not it was still something the two of them would even need to discuss at all. Part of her simply wanted to move forward, but another part kept reminding her that lingering issues simply did not disappear.

Tifa hated experiencing moments like these when both her mind and heart were stuck in a cycle of indecision. Dejectedly, it always seemed as though her relationship with Cloud was rife with such hesitancy.

* * *

_Ten-year-old Tifa glanced outside her bedroom window at the Strife yard to see her neighbor sitting alone on his tire swing. It was August 11th, and he was turning eleven, but instead of celebrating his birthday, he was out there by himself with his head down. She had caught him doing this a few times in the past, and it bothered her to see him seemingly so downcast, especially on a day that was supposed to be joyous._

_Tifa desperately wanted to reach out to him, but far too many barriers were preventing her from doing so. For starters, she no longer knew what to say to him. She could not even consciously recall when their most recent extended interaction was; it had either been too long or the Mt. Nibel accident had scrambled her memory too much for her to recall anything related to him. Sure, they had spoken a few times since then, but none of their exchanges could even be considered conversations. Physically, they were still next-door neighbors who lived only a few steps apart, but emotionally, they had grown as distant as the dimmest stars in the sky._

_Then there was the issue of her father, who had adamantly forbidden her from speaking with Cloud ever since she had awakened from her week-long coma a year ago. When she asked him why, he simply informed her that Cloud was "bad news" without explaining any deeper. Although her father was currently not home, Tifa knew better than to defy him._

_Her friends were another factor holding her back. They were the ones who first told her that Cloud had pushed her off Mt. Nibel, and while she had never actually believed them, Tifa would be lying if she said that being around them had no negative impact on how she viewed Cloud. She knew that he had certainly turned more aggressive, and although she sincerely wanted to understand why, rumors of his increasingly violent tendencies did slightly frighten her. Such rumors made her start questioning what would happen if she tried to open up communication lines with him: would he be friendly with her, or would he act as aggressively toward her as he had become toward the other boys?_

_Despite all of these barriers, Tifa's curious and nurturing side was too stubborn to yield. She had never experienced any issues with Cloud in the past, and even with all the gossip from her friends and the townsfolk, her determined nature refused to believe that she was incapable of breaking through to him. It took a few more minutes, but she finally made the decision to act. Bound by a sudden surge of courage, Tifa pushed herself away from her windowsill and made the walk downstairs. She would wish him a happy birthday, and even if she and Cloud wound up having little to say to each other beyond that, she would be satisfied to know that he felt the presence of at least one other person for his birthday._

_The moment she reached the bottom step though, a noise could be heard coming from the door. Seconds later, the knob twisted, and Brian Lockhart entered._

_"Hi, Sweet Pea," her father greeted. "Did you just come downstairs?"_

_Tifa felt her heart sink. Within that one moment, the courage she had worked to build evaporated, and her opportunity was deprived from her._

_"Yeah, I'm just thirsty," she answered. "I'll be in the kitchen."_

* * *

"Tifa?" Cloud called out when he came back down to the bar. He had just finished sorting through his receipts and mapping out his delivery routes for the next day.

"Oh, hey Cloud," Tifa acknowledged his presence while she finished rinsing the final glass. "I'm almost done here. Go ahead and grab a seat."

"Okay," he responded, sitting down at the bar stool directly in front of her.

"Thanks a lot for putting the kids to bed," she added as she placed the glass on the rack to dry.

"Of course," he replied. "Do you need any help back there?"

"No, I just finished," she informed. "Want a drink?"

"Oh, just some water's fine," he told her.

She filled him a glass and placed it in front of him. He took a sip while she washed her hands and wiped them off. He decided the time had come.

"Hey, Teef, I wanted to apologize for what happened the other morning," he said.

That seemed to get her attention instantly, because all of her movements suddenly stopped, and her eyes became laser-focused on him.

"Apologize?" she asked in a tone that sounded more bewildered than curious. A small part of Cloud wanted to ask her why she appeared more puzzled than he had expected, but he quickly decided that it was likely because she was anticipating what he would say next.

"Yeah, the awkward moment we had wound up interrupting your training," he explained. "I said I would help you train, and that moment didn't help."

Cloud noticed that the bewildered stare she was giving him did not shift after his clarification. He figured it was best to dispel it by revealing the positive news.

"I do have something you might like though," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to her. He watched as she finally replaced her look of confusion with one of intrigue once she had read the card.

"What's this?" she asked him.

"Well, do you remember Dio, the guy who owns the Gold Saucer?" he said, and she nodded. "He recently opened up a new, underground battle square just outside of Edge. He actually hired the Trio to manage it."

"The Trio?" she questioned. "You mean, Chocobo Sam, Madam M, and Andrea Rodea?"

"Yup, that Trio," he answered. "Dio said they're always looking for capable fighters to conquer the new battle square, and if it's anything like the battle square at the Gold Saucer, we can expect a challenge."

Cloud paused for a few seconds to gauge Tifa's expression, noticing that her eyes were wandering between his and the business card.

"What do you say, Tifa?" he asked. "Want to test yourself in an arena again?"

He watched her for a few seconds more, recognizing that she was putting some thought into his suggestion. He knew that she was capable, but he remained uncertain of how confident she still felt after being defeated by Loz, struggling against the elfadunk stampede, and having him mess up their lone training session together. After a while, he decided that it was best not to keep staring at her and making her feel as though he was pressuring her for a decision immediately.

"Feel free to give it some thought," Cloud said, starting to turn away. "The battles are frequent, so you don't have to…"

"I'll do it," Tifa interrupted, stopping him in his tracks.

"You will?" he asked, requesting confirmation.

"Yes," she reassured. "Tell them that I'm in. Pick a day, sign me up, and I'll close the bar for that day."

Cloud flashed her a grin that symbolized both relief and contentment: it was a relief that she had not thought of his idea as a waste of time, and he felt content that it seemed to have brought back some of the determination that he loved seeing from her.

"Great," he remarked. "I'll let them know the next time I see any one of them. Then we can start training together for your battles. Sound good?"

"Absolutely," she replied, and he relaxed again when he detected no hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Excellent," he said, feeling as though her acceptance had renewed his own drive as well. "I won't let you down this time, Tifa."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I don't feel as though this is one of my stronger chapters. As I was writing it, I kept getting the impression that I was regurgitating what had already been covered before.
> 
> What do you think, though? I can only hope that you're still entertained enough to want to continue following the story. I always appreciate your feedback, so please let me know your thoughts. Until next time!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twelve chapters in. Yes, this is a slow burn, but it's CloTi, so what do we expect, right? Thank you for your patience, and I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy this story. Okay, onward.

Cloud would show that he meant what he said. He returned the next day from his deliveries with news that he had signed Tifa up for a battle on the following Monday evening, knowing that was the time when the bar was usually the least busy. Over the course of the week leading up to her fight in the arena, he and Tifa woke up early every morning to train.

The restored rigor that had apparently been stirred by the revelation of the new battle square seemed to keep both of them laser-focused, and the awkward incident that had interrupted their first training session never manifested itself for a second time, fading into ancient history. Cloud kept his personal emotions suppressed while he guided Tifa, equally as motivated as her to build on her strength in preparation for her first structured combat challenge in a long while.

As the days passed and their sessions accumulated, Cloud easily noticed Tifa's improvement. Her reflexes were being restored to the same speed he remembered from their combat-filled days, speeding up both her attacking and defensive abilities. He was finding it increasingly difficult to best her in their sparring matches, and he took note of the augmented intensity that her confidence exuded. By the time they finished their session on Monday morning, he made sure to let her know that he felt she was completely prepared for that evening.

Monday also happened to be the first day of school for Marlene and Denzel. Cloud and Tifa had debated whether or not to bring the two of them to the battle square, but the youngsters' insistence was so persistent that it almost made their debate moot.

"We've already seen you both in action," Denzel reminded them at dinner one evening. "You're not protecting us by not letting us come."

In the end, they settled on a compromise: Marlene and Denzel would attend if they finished any homework they might be given. If not, Cloud would stay behind to watch the two of them while Tifa went to fight alone.

Fortunately for all four of them, Monday went by as smoothly as they anticipated. Cloud took the children to school in the morning en route to his first delivery; even though the youngsters would be walking to school on most days, Cloud insisted on bringing them there for their first in order to familiarize himself with both the route and the atmosphere around the campus in the morning. He finished his work in a timely manner, returning to the school a few minutes before dismissal to greet the children at the front door. To both his satisfaction and relief, Marlene and Denzel walked out with wide smiles on their faces and regaled him with tales of excitement about their first day. Upon arriving back at Seventh Heaven, Tifa informed him that business had been better than usual during the day, and the bar had earned more than enough to cover for that evening.

Cloud helped Tifa sign a few school-related forms for Marlene and Denzel while the latter two did their homework, then headed into his office to sort through his future deliveries. He managed to finish everything before sunset, just in time to take Tifa to the battle square.

* * *

The four of them rode the truck toward the southeastern border of Edge and stopped it upon reaching a seemingly inauspicious building that blended in well with its surroundings. As soon as the door opened though, the sight of two familiar faces instantly told the adults that they were in the right place.

"Heyo, the main event has arrived!" one shouted.

Tifa internally grimaced. Of all the faces she hoped to see, these two were at the bottom of her list.

Scotch and Kotch.

"Edge's power couple," Kotch remarked. "We had a feeling it was only a matter of time before you found your way here. Welcome to Battle Square East, an extension of the Gold Saucer Battle Square."

"Glad to be here," came Cloud's deadpan reply. Tifa knew he had to put on a polite face in front of Marlene and Denzel, but his tone of voice also left no doubt that he was letting their greeters know he would not be intimidated if they were to try anything funny.

The reception area they were in was nothing fancy. The walls were pure dark gray with no decorations. Plants were completely absent. Scotch and Kotch stood behind a narrow counter with two doors that led elsewhere along the back wall. There was another door off to the side, and a young woman appeared just as Tifa looked in that direction.

"This young lady will escort any non-participants to the stands," Scotch informed. "You can go with her now."

Cloud turned to face Tifa, who gave him a confident smile and nod before she even allowed herself to take in his questioning expression. She could sense his hesitation about leaving her alone, but he still took Marlene's and Denzel's hands and followed the guide through the side door.

"All right, Tifa, the rules for Battle Square East are the same as the ones at the Gold Saucer," Kotch was speaking before the side door had even closed. "It's gauntlet style. You go in there, and you'll be facing a series of battles against random enemies pulled from a preset pool. Win a round and a random handicap is placed on you before the next round. To complete the challenge, you'll have to win eight rounds in a row. Should you get defeated, someone will come out and use cure materia to help you recover. You can tap out at any time by simply signaling that you want out. Any questions?"

"Uh…not really," Tifa managed to utter, still trying to fully absorb every word that Kotch had just rapidly fired in her direction.

"Great, then Scotch and I will lead you to the arena," Kotch informed. "Follow us."

The two lackeys opened one of the doors along the back wall and stepped through, beckoning Tifa to follow. The instant the three of them were inside, the lights came on to reveal a corridor that angled downward, signaling that the arena was somewhere deep underground. It made sense to Tifa considering there was no sign of an arena when they approached the building from the outside, and it was fitting given the location of the old colosseum at Wall Market that Scotch and Kotch once worked at.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Scotch asked her. "Man, I still remember when you sauntered into Corneo's mansion two years ago in that pretty purple dress, telling us you wanted to audition."

Tifa sighed, partly knowing there was a chance they would bring up that moment. She was not bothered by it, since she still had the same mental fortitude as she did that night when she walked straight into the lion's den with enough confidence that she would fight her way out if trouble started, but it did annoy her that he mentioned it so casually.

"You definitely were a standout," Kotch added. "I can't believe the Don didn't pick you and instead got fooled by Cloud."

"Thought I'd scored big when Kotch brought you to us," Scotch remarked. "Then you put a foot in my face. That was the night I learned the true meaning of pain."

"Thanks, I guess?" Tifa responded apathetically. She had no idea what either of them was hoping to gain from speaking to her this way, and frankly, she did not care.

A brief moment of silence fell on the three as they continued their walk down the corridor. Tifa wanted to ask if any member of the Trio was in attendance simply to steer the conversation in a different direction, but Kotch was the first to break it before she could get her words out.

"Heard your bar's doing pretty well," he said. "I gotta ask though: how does someone go from saving the world one day to running a bar the next?"

"Seems a bit beneath your level, isn't it?" Scotch added.

Tifa neither wanted nor cared to give them any answers.

"It's a long story," she replied in the same indifferent tone, hoping they would pick up on it. "I'll tell you another time."

"Right, focus is important to a fighter," Scotch commented with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Didn't mean to take that off you."

Tifa slightly shook her head and said nothing more. A few steps later, the three of them found themselves exiting the corridor and into the arena. The lights were bright, and while the place was nowhere near full, there were quite a few spectators in the stands. Tifa made a quick visual scan of the colosseum, and while it was impossible for her to make out every face, she did catch a glimpse of several people who had visited her bar and left an impression, including a few regulars. There was no sign of the Trio, although she did not expect them to be there seeing as how this was only an exhibition fight for her and not some ranked tournament. She finally spotted Cloud with Marlene and Denzel sitting and cheering loudly a few rows up to the right of where she entered, and she made sure to smile and wave at them to acknowledge their encouragement.

As she stared ahead at the other entrance where her gauntlet foes were likely to show up from, Tifa's mind thought back to the first time she had set foot solo into one of these arenas.

* * *

_The giant text reading "THE BRAVE DO NOT FEAR THE GRAVE" stared back at her from the arena floor while she steeled herself for her first foe. She would be lying if she said there were no nerves at all, but she never hesitated to challenge herself in combat, and she felt ready for this one after witnessing Cloud conquer it not too long ago._

_The championship belt was a prize that was too powerful to not acquire. Tifa, always on the lookout for ways to better contribute, knew that equipping one would make her an even bigger asset for the team. It was why, after Cloud had done his part in winning a few new materia, Tifa offered to challenge the Gold Saucer Battle Square herself. Cloud's overprotective side was not fond of the idea at first, but Tifa continued insisting. Eventually, he caved, but she agreed to allow him to train her in preparation._

_The decision paid off. He helped her equip her gear with the proper materia, giving her pointers on when to use each one for maximum efficiency. He also shared his most useful tips on how to sweep through enemy groups in minimal time. Tifa still had her reservations about Cloud's strange memories and behavior, but he never seemed hesitant at all whenever their conversations turned to topics about combat._

_The first enemies revealed themselves: two mono drives. Within seconds, Tifa had them battered and beaten. Her first handicap also did not have a large effect, as the arena only slightly decreased her damage dealt._

_As the battles continued and her handicaps piled up, each set of enemies became more difficult to defeat. It was here that Tifa started increasingly relying on Cloud's tips to get her through her rounds, knocking the enemies down with an ease that surprised even her. It would not be until the final round that she would face her lone significant challenge, having to fight a harpy without any materia or mana. Thankfully, Cloud had briefed her on the beast, suggesting that she work on its middle head from close range and timing her evasions of the other heads' attacks so that they would wind up striking the middle one for her as she dodged._

_"They may be three-headed, but they're not too bright," she remembered Cloud's words. "Watch them cast aqualung on you and end up hitting themselves with it."_

_She was almost exhausted by then, but she still had enough energy to pull the stunt off, and when the harpy fell minutes later, Tifa walked out of the arena and claimed her championship belt._

_Later, despite Tifa openly giving him her verbal gratitude for his help in front of the rest of their group, Cloud refused to claim credit, humbly insisting that Tifa had managed to do it all herself._

* * *

Cloud's aid had helped then, and it was certainly helping her again now. Tifa had zero trouble sweeping through her first seven rounds and now found herself face to face with her final match: a hell rider VR2. Once again, she would have to face her last battle without the aid of any magic or materia.

As the round started, she instantly leaped forward toward the rider. Just as she had predicted, it launched its iron mallet attack at her first. Tifa watched the mallet come straight down toward the spot she was running in the direction of, knowing exactly where it would land. At the last second, she pivoted away from the spot, leaving no time for her foe to pull its attack back. The moment the hammer struck the arena floor, Tifa jumped atop it and blazed her way up its handle, and before the hell rider could react, she landed a five-punch combo on his hand, depriving him of his weapon.

The rider immediately tried to strike at her with an electromag attack to push her back, but Tifa was too quick on her feet and easily avoided the attack's radius by jumping into the air and allowing the attack to run its course. She landed atop the beast behind the rider just as the electromag finished, putting her in ample position to hit her foe with another flurry of punches that it was in no position to defend.

The combination of her speed and power overwhelmed the rider in seconds as he fell from the beast's back. In desperation, he threw an elbow that struck Tifa in the abdomen, causing her to tumble off the beast as well. Little did he realize that it was exactly what Tifa had hoped for, having built up her limit throughout the first seven rounds just for this moment. With her limit break activated, Tifa utterly destroyed the beast and any remnants of its rider.

There was nothing but quiet when the two bodies hit the arena floor for the last time, dissolving into the Lifestream seconds later.

"Tifa survives the gauntlet!" Scotch's voice blared over the loudspeaker.

The small crowd stood up and gave her a loud cheer that echoed off the arena's walls, and for the first time since she had noticed Cloud and the children in the stands, Tifa allowed herself to relax and smile. It had been ages since she was able to string together a successive chain of victories over her foes like this, and while she understood that the beasts she faced this evening were not necessarily the planet's strongest, they had still awakened a part of her fighting spirit that had been in hibernation for quite some time.

"Tifa!" she heard Denzel's cry.

She turned in the direction it was coming from and saw both children running toward her with Cloud walking behind them. They leaped into her arms upon arrival, and she returned their hugs of affection with equal vigor, thrilled that they were the first ones to greet and congratulate her instead of Scotch and Kotch. Cloud came up soon after and wrapped his arms around everyone, and the whole family simply stood there in the middle of the arena to bask in the moment for a few seconds.

* * *

Cloud was not the best at reading body language, but even he could tell that participating in the arena had brought something out of Tifa. Since the end of the fight, she had yet to stop smiling. Along the way back to Seventh Heaven, when the children were asking her questions about how she defeated each enemy, she showed no reluctancy in explaining exactly what she did. Tifa Lockhart was always positive and encouraging, but rarely at this high of a level, and she was hardly ever this talkative and overtly descriptive when it came to specific details.

Marlene and Denzel quickly washed, brushed, and went to bed upon arriving home, knowing they had school the next day. Cloud took some time organizing his delivery receipts and was about to head to the bathroom to prepare for bed when a knock at his office door diverted his attention.

"Hey," came Tifa's voice, and Cloud looked up to see her already in her nightgown.

"Hey, Teef, what's up?" he asked, not taking his eyes off her.

"I just wanted to thank you again for helping me train," she answered. "The fights felt so easy tonight."

Cloud's face had curved into a smile before he could even think about a response.

"It was all you, Tifa," he told her. "I just served as your punching bag."

She gave him a slight laugh at his words while walking in and taking a seat on his bed. It seemed like there was something else she wanted to say, but she decided instead to hold back. Not one to be discouraged though, Cloud approached and sat next to her, and the two found themselves in a similar position to where they were a few weeks ago when she admitted her doubts about her waning strength to him.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but the fight seemed to have uplifted your spirits," Cloud casually remarked to break the silence.

"You are definitely not wrong," Tifa responded with another smile, and Cloud could tell that it was genuine and not forced.

"Do you want to do it again?" he asked. "I could sign you up for next week if you're up for it. Dio said it would get harder as the challenger progressed though, just like it did for us back at the Gold Saucer."

"I'll do it," she replied, this time without any pause.

She tilted her head upward to look at him, and just as quickly as she had answered, she brought her lips up to his. Unlike the other night several weeks ago, instead of a quick peck, she held her kiss for several seconds while he returned it. He did not understand what exactly she meant by this gesture, but he was glad that there was no awkwardness between them this time. When they broke the kiss, their smiles remained.

"Thank you again, Cloud," she said in a softer voice. "It was your belief in me that night right here that guided me through the colosseum today."

"Tifa…" he sighed in response. Accepting praise from her was never going to be easy.

"I mean it," she cut him off before he had a chance to put himself down again, but did not say anything else.

A brief, comfortable silence fell between the two of them, and Cloud took this moment to loop his arm around her and give her a tight squeeze as a gesture of appreciation. He felt that it was the least he could offer her after she had come to his office and thanked him twice.

He looked down and saw her eyelids slightly start to drop.

"Tifa, you're tired," he commented. "You should get some rest, especially after a day like today."

"Yeah, I should," she agreed, and they stood up together.

He noticed that her pace was slightly languid while she was walking toward the door and out of his room. He was about to ask her what was the matter, but she spoke first.

"Hey, Cloud?" she asked while turning around to look back at him.

"Yeah?" he replied.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. He thought about reassuring her that she could trust him with whatever she wanted to tell him, but once again, he was one step behind her.

"Never mind," she said, slightly shaking her head. "It's not important. We can talk about it another time."

He felt a twinge of disappointment, but he let it slide, trusting her decision instead of pushing her for answers.

"All right," he responded. "Good night, Tifa."

"Good night, Cloud," she remarked, walking back to her bedroom.

His curious side could not help but ponder for a moment at what exactly she was about to say, but he quickly dismissed it, satisfied with the overall results of the evening. He had helped her regain the fortitude that she thought she had lost, and with her full confidence returning, he promised to himself that he would continue to steer her in the same uplifting direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not have a timetable for when each chapter will be released. Sometimes, I might get them out quickly. Other times, it could take a while. Rest assured though that I will continue to work on this story. As I've mentioned before, the plot is already finished; right now, it's simply a matter of filling in the details and guiding it in a satisfactory manner toward its conclusion.
> 
> Thank you all for being so supportive with your readership and feedback! Please don't hesitate to share any of your thoughts with me. Until next time!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head's up, because there is a scene in the second half of this chapter that may be difficult to read. Nothing explicit happens, since this story is rated T and not M, but consider this my word of caution to you. Now, onward to Chapter 13.

The next two weeks brought about an unusual sense of routine for everyone at Seventh Heaven. Cloud and Tifa would get up bright and early to train, and once their sessions ended, Marlene and Denzel would be rolling out of their beds to prepare for school. Cloud took them on Fenrir when he could, and the children would almost always walk back home unless Cloud finished his deliveries early or had a break that corresponded with their afternoon dismissal time.

Everyone was present again the following Monday to watch Tifa sweep her way through yet another gauntlet. Even Yuffie and Barret were in attendance, having made their way from Wutai and Corel to Edge on official WRO business. Shortly after, Reeve had informed everyone that the WRO had found what it believed was the cause of the unusual elfadunk attack as well as the explanation for the increased aggressiveness among many of the eastern continent's creatures, but additional testing would need to be completed before the organization could confirm their findings with full confidence.

Tifa would return to Battle Square East the following Monday and dominate the gauntlet for the third straight week. This time, Andrea Rhodea had been in attendance, and the former Honeybee Inn owner had made sure to congratulate Tifa in person on all her success after the fights were over. He complimented her on her captivating grace and elegance in battle and reminded her that his offer to join him on stage one day, made after she had beaten him in a pull-up challenge two years ago, was still on the table.

Unfortunately for Tifa, no amount of restored confidence was enough to dispel her nightmares. They were not frequent, but on more than a few occasions during those weeks, she found her dreams haunted by the Sector 7 plate collapse. Each iteration would play out slightly differently, but the wails of all the souls who failed to survive that night seemed to never leave her alone.

Still though, for the sake of her family, Tifa continued to put on her brave face any time they were around. She certainly could not talk about her nightmares in front of Marlene and Denzel, and she was too appreciative of Cloud for his efforts in helping her regain her edge in combat to burden him with such troubles. Plus, it was not as if he had any solutions for what she was dreaming about; Cloud was helpful in so many ways, but even she knew that his abilities did not extend to oneirology.

Yes, these nightmares were something that Tifa needed to resolve on her own, and she would have to call on some prior experience to help her do so.

* * *

_"Tifa! Tifa, my dear!"_

_The concerned, soothing sound of an aging voice awakened Tifa, and she opened her eyes to see Marle's gentle expression staring at her._

_"What…what happened?" Tifa asked with a quiver._

_"You must've been having a bad dream," Marle answered her. "You were shaking and crying pretty violently, so much that you kicked the covers to the floor."_

_Tifa looked around and confirmed that she indeed had done what Marle just informed her of._

_"Do you want to talk about it?" Marle offered._

_Tifa hesitated while her breathing gradually returned to normal, trying to recall the details of her nightmare. Ever since she had awakened in Midgar to find herself under Marle's care, the burning of Nibelheim had plagued her dreams more often than not, never offering her the opportunity to put that day of horror behind her. She had just experienced yet another session of the events while she slept, and unlike the physical threats to the area that she could defend with her combat skills, frequency did not make her nightmares easier to deal with._

_She was now sixteen, having been in Midgar for almost a whole year. Fortune had blessed her when Master Zangan had left her with Marle, and the sweet lady had quickly become family for her. She had told Marle about this nightmare on numerous occasions before, and she had received the same soothing comforting gestures in return each time: Marle would hold and rock her, assuring her that it would be all right and that she was strong enough to overcome whatever haunting horrors she still could not shake off._

_Yet for Tifa, it was no longer enough to only accept comfort and assurance. She wanted a solution. She wanted something that could remedy the terror of that day, and the only answer her sixteen-year-old mind could conjure up at the moment was revenge. She may have declared her hatred toward both SOLDIER and Shinra when she had found her father dead, but she had yet to act on her desires for retaliation._

_"No," she finally gave Marle a response, shaking her head while she did so. "I think I need some time alone."_

_There was a pause while Marle contemplated her words._

_"All right, dear," she agreed. "If you need me, you know I'm always here."_

_Marle left her room seconds later. Tifa was sure Marle would understand her yearning for such a solution, but at the moment, she was not ready to discuss it with anyone. She promised herself that, when and if the time was right, she would let Marle know, but without even a plan to begin executing, now was not that time._

_As she made the promise to herself, her mind inevitably wandered to another promise that she was still holding near and dear to her. She wondered yet again what happened to Cloud and why she still had not heard from him in three years. He was not present to rescue her when Nibelheim was burned, and while she had hoped to catch him in Midgar after her arrival—even continuing to check the news for any mention of him—there was still no word or sign of his presence._

_Tifa sighed as she thought about him. Although she was disappointed that he had not appeared in her hours of need thus far, she found herself unable to hold those moments against him as though he had broken his promise. Instead, she considered them missed opportunities, and her teenage heart was still holding onto the hope that he would reemerge one day to show that he meant what he had promised her that night on the water tower._

* * *

Costa del Sol was not the same lively town that Cloud remembered from his previous visit. Geostigma had hit the town rather hard, driving many tourists away, and it was just beginning to recover. Supplies continued to be ferried in, and as word spread that Strife Delivery Service was back in business, Cloud had finally received his first assignment on the western continent since his own recovery from the disease. This would also be the first time that he would be away from Seventh Heaven for multiple nights since then; thankfully, he still owned the villa he had purchased during his travels to save the planet, so he could at least save some money on lodging.

A part of Cloud still wondered why he had bought the villa in the first place. It was a rather impulsive decision that could have easily backfired, especially considering that he had purchased a home and not just another product he could return for a refund. In the two years since Meteorfall, the facility had sat mostly neglected while he and his family tried to rebuild their lives; it would not be until Cloud started his business and returned to Costa del Sol for a few deliveries that he would visit it once again, but Geostigma interrupted any thoughts he may have had regarding the building. Now that the chaos of the previous years seemed to be in the past, Cloud was finding it strange to accept the reality that he actually owned a fully-paid-off home in a tropical seaside vacation town with no plans for what to do with it.

A brief respite from his deliveries offered him a chance to think through some possibilities as he lay on the sofa inside his villa. His gut instinct told him to sell the property, seeing as how that could provide quite a bit of financial security for his family back in Edge, but given the current state of Costa del Sol and the planet as a whole, he would likely not receive anywhere close to the most ideal offers. He thought about renting the place out, but with him living on the other side of the world, overseeing any of his tenants' activities would be nearly impossible (not to mention he had no experiences with being a property landlord). After some thought, he finally decided that he would keep the property as is and maintain it to the best of his capabilities whenever he visited, but he would bring Tifa and the children on vacation to Costa del Sol when the time was right.

He smiled to himself as his mind wandered to Tifa again. Her participation in the arena gauntlets had indeed restored some of the confidence that she had lost. She had become noticeably more intense during their training sessions each morning, and he could see the familiar fire burning brighter every day, the same fire that she once possessed during their travels to save the world. He wanted to feel satisfied over her improvement as a result of his encouragement, but he was more relieved than anything that he had not made another mistake and exacerbated the situation.

Still though, Cloud could sense that there was something else troubling Tifa that remained unresolved. He could not pinpoint exactly what it was, and he hesitated to ask her out of concern that it could unravel whatever confidence she had successfully built up, but he could read it in some of her day-to-day conduct. Tifa was always good at keeping her true emotions hidden in order to shield those around her from her burdens, but Cloud had known her both long and well enough to spot when she was withholding such feelings.

Cloud had now learned from his experience with Geostigma that it behooved Tifa to share her troubles with someone trustworthy before the lingering effects started spiraling out of control, but he also knew that pressing her would be the wrong move to make. Additionally, if he was honest with himself, he still could not be certain that the person she should share her troubles with was him, seeing as how it would not be fair to ask her to do so when he had tried to keep his Geostigma condition from her. As relatively well as events had been playing out since he was cured, he still felt that he needed to do more to prove to her that he could be fully trusted again before he could even think about urging her to be completely open with him.

Checking his phone, Cloud noticed that he was nearing the time for his next delivery. He put his thoughts into the back of his mind, got up from the sofa, and returned outside into the Costa del Sol afternoon to resume his work.

* * *

Business at Seventh Heaven seemed to have picked up ever since word started to spread that Tifa was fighting weekly at Battle Square East. Even nights when she was not usually too busy were starting to see more customers, and while tonight was not as unexpectedly packed as it had been weeks ago when the Turks suddenly showed up, it was still fairly busy. Marlene and Denzel, having finished their homework, were performing their regular helpful duties at the tables.

Discussions about her battles inevitably came up frequently. Tifa was thankful for her patient nature; she could imagine how annoyed another individual would become from having to talk about the same topic repeatedly—albeit with different people—but she fully understood the curiosity of her patrons. Although she would never consider herself the best at handling praise, Tifa would be lying if she said that the increased regularity of admiration for her combat skills among her bar visitors did not continue to restore her own confidence in her abilities.

"I have to say, Tifa, I didn't know you could fight like that," one of her regulars had just remarked as he was paying his gil at the register. "I've heard about your skills from those who saw you while you were saving the world, but it's a whole different experience to see them for myself."

"Thanks," Tifa responded with the same smile she gave all her customers. "I'm just trying to keep them sharp."

The guest received his change and said his partings, but as he opened the door and left, Tifa had to do a double take before recognizing the faces that walked in immediately afterward.

"Heyo! There's our champ!" came the new arrival's semi-high-pitched booming voice, hailing her from the entrance while attracting the entire bar's attention. "We finally found your place!"

Kotch walked in with Scotch closely behind; the latter was giving smug smirks to every patron he made eye contact with. Internally, Tifa grimaced a bit at the annoyance they had already caused upon entry. Unlike the Turks, who at least had some respect for the other patrons, these two had shown within seconds that their level of decency was nowhere near as high.

The pair headed straight for the bar area and sat at the stools directly in front of her. Tifa gave Marlene and Denzel a quick look and nodded, silently signaling to them that they should continue as usual. She knew the children recognized the visitors' faces from their trips to Battle Square East, and she knew that they could sense her exasperation at the duo's presence, but as irritating as Scotch and Kotch could be, Tifa also knew that they did not pose any risk to the children.

"What's good, beautiful?" Kotch greeted upon sitting down, not even bothering to lower the volume of his voice. "We thought we'd finally pay you a visit. You've certainly been an asset for us."

"Thanks, glad to help," Tifa replied, trying to hide her annoyance.

"Recommend anything?" Scotch asked. "I'm in the mood for something hard and bitter."

"Give me your house special," Kotch followed.

"Coming right up," Tifa responded with an enthusiastic façade.

She mixed their drinks and served them within a minute, then quickly turned her attention to another customer's gil payment that Denzel had brought her. Unfortunately, Scotch and Kotch made sure neither her nor the bar would forget that they were present.

"So, where's the mister?" Kotch questioned, still loud as ever.

"Away on business," Tifa gave him a deadpan answer, never taking her eyes off the other customer's bill.

"He does that often?" Scotch followed.

"Occasionally," Tifa replied, placing the guest's change on the tray. "Denzel!"

Denzel came and took the tray back to the table. Just as he left, Marlene came up and handed Tifa a list of another table's orders. Tifa read the list, noticing it contained three dishes that she had to prepare.

"I'm needed in the kitchen," she informed Scotch and Kotch. "You two want anything else before I go in?"

"Boy, you just don't stop, do you?" Kotch answered. "Nah, we're good."

As if to prove they were not bluffing, Scotch took out some gil and handed it to Tifa.

"Keep the change," he remarked.

"Thanks," Tifa responded. "Denzel, I'm going into the kitchen."

"Okay," came the boy's voice, instinctively knowing to take her place behind the bar as she made her way through the door.

Cooking the customers' dishes provided Tifa with the distraction she wanted. Based on experience, she knew Scotch's and Kotch's boundaries for conversation were far beyond her other patrons', and she was never in any mood to engage either of them in any sort of in-depth talks. During her past two trips to fight in the colosseum, they had asked her some questions that most people would find borderline uncomfortable. She hoped they were at least decent enough to not try to push their luck with a child such as Denzel, but even if they were not, she trusted Denzel to divulge nothing to them.

By the time she had finished and left the kitchen, Scotch and Kotch were gone, leaving nothing but their empty glasses behind. Much to Tifa's relief, Denzel let her know that, beyond being shocked at him working behind the counter at a bar, the duo said nothing else and took off upon finishing their drinks.

* * *

_"The leftovers are all yours," Don Corneo declared while guiding Cloud away, triggering a loud cheer from the others present in the room._

_"Hell yeah!" Kotch exclaimed above them. "Okay ladies, y'all coming with me."_

_Tifa gave Aerith a quick glance. No words were exchanged as the two of them followed Kotch back out of the Don's room, but she could read her new companion's eyes. They would only have to play their little game for a little longer before they could take control of the situation and get the answers they had come for. Tifa was not certain exactly how competent Aerith was as a fighter, but if both she and Cloud had successfully infiltrated the manor, then Tifa could be confident that Aerith possessed decent survival skills in at least some capacity._

_"Ayo, fellas, we've got guests!" Kotch announced, swinging the doors open to the side room. "And y'all got first crack at 'entertaining' them!"_

_Tifa and Aerith stepped through in front of Kotch and stood still. Four now-familiar disgusting faces of Corneo's lackeys, including Scotch, stood glaring at them. A few "oohs" and "yeahs" could be heard while they looked at her and Aerith with hungry expressions._

_"Courtesy of the ever-generous Don Corneo himself!" Kotch continued. "Never forget—the don provides!"_

_"Yeah!" Scotch pointed back at Kotch as the latter backed out and the swinging doors closed._

_"COR-NE-O!" the other lackeys all cheered._

_Tifa exhaled a small groan of repugnance at their display, mentally mapping out how best to strike at them._

_"So, ladies," Scotch spoke, taking a few steps forward toward Tifa. "Ready to…get to it?"_

_"Yeah…I guess I'm good to go whenever," Aerith answered, still smoothly playing the role of an innocent damsel. "How 'bout you, Tifa?"_

_Tifa rescanned the room with her eyes._

_"Hmm…four guys between us…" she observed aloud. "Okay. Let's not keep Cloud waiting."_

_"Right," Aerith affirmed._

_"Yeah, 'right' indeed," Scotch responded._

_A sharp pain hit the back of Tifa's head, and before she was even aware that she had been struck from behind, she had already fallen forward into someone's grasp._

_"I got her arms!" came the voice of the man who now held her, quickly shifting his hands to clutch her wrists._

_"I got her legs!" came another voice, and Tifa felt her ankles grabbed tightly._

_The next few seconds were chaotic, and Tifa had no idea what was transpiring as she was still trying to recover from the hit. When she finally regained her full sense of awareness, she found herself on her back, pinned to the floor with all four of her limbs held down, and completely restrained by the hands of the lackeys._

_"Thought you could pull a quick one on us, hmm?" Kotch appeared in front of her, holding a wooden plank in each hand. Tifa did not need to put two and two together to realize that he was the one who had struck her._

_"Aerith!" Tifa shouted._

_"Tifa!" she heard her partner scream back._

_Tifa looked to her right to see the girl in the red dress pinned down in the same position. Instinctively, she started struggling as fiercely as she could to free herself from her captors' grasps, but they had her limbs suffocated against the floor._

_"Oh no, you're not going anywhere, beautiful," Scotch remarked from above her, pulling out some rope and wrapping it around her wrists. "We know what you're up to, and we know what you already realize."_

_"Yeah, that's right," Kotch taunted. "You already know the plate's coming down. We can't have you running back to Sector 7 trying to be a hero now, can we?"_

_Tifa gave him a look of fury over the revelation. She continued to struggle while Scotch finished binding her wrists, but she was making no progress to shake herself free._

_"Let me go, you jackasses!" she shouted as she fought to no avail. "Aerith!"_

_"Tifa!" Aerith screamed again, and Tifa could see from the corner of her eyes that the lackeys had already bound her partner's wrists as well._

_"Hey, you should be thanking us," Scotch goaded. "We're keeping you here so you won't witness the Sector 7 plate drop."_

_"Yeah, we're saving you from trauma that'll haunt you forever," Kotch followed, kneeling down and slapping her upper right leg. "Now you're going to give us our reward."_

_The lackey who had been pinning her legs down pried them apart. Tifa tried to lift one leg to kick him, but she had used up so much energy fighting to free herself that she found she had almost no control of her legs anymore. Kotch, seeing her weakened state, quickly stepped over her right leg and positioned himself in between her thighs, running his hands upward._

_"Tifa!" she heard Aerith cry out for a third time. "Help me!"_

_"No!" Tifa shouted. "Aerith! Cloud!"_

* * *

"No!" Tifa cried out, leaping awake while gasping for air. It took a few seconds before she registered the red "4:05 am" staring back at her as the text on her alarm clock, and she lay back down atop her pillow.

She stayed quiet for a minute or two to make sure that she had not awakened the children, and when there was no knock at her door, she finally found the resolve to gather her thoughts about her most recent nightmare.

It was another false event that she did not understand. What made this one unusual was that, as far back as she could remember, she never dreamed about the fear of being trapped in this type of vulnerable position. Why did she have it tonight for the first time? Was it because of Scotch's and Kotch's presence at her bar? The last time the Turks visited, she had been haunted by a nightmare about their fight atop the Sector 7 plate that also played out falsely; was this one connected to that one? If so, how? Was this dream a one-time occurrence, or would it be frequent?

Similar to the previous instances in which she had been stirred awake by a nightmare, the questions would not stop swirling in Tifa's head. She had yet to figure out the reasons behind her ongoing dreams of the Sector 7 plate collapse, and now she had to try and understand this new one as well.

Tifa felt frustrated. She felt frustrated at the lack of answers for her continued nightmares. She felt frustrated at not knowing how and where to find answers, even as she silently pleaded for them regularly. She felt frustrated that these dreams always seemed to terrorize her while there was nobody but the children around, depriving her of the chance to speak to anyone, but she knew that even if someone as close as Cloud was around, she would hesitate to reveal them due to her reserved personality, which simply added to her frustration even more.

Exhausted from the confusion, Tifa finally managed to somehow fall back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that wasn't too uncomfortable to read. It certainly wasn't easy to write; it took several revisions before I felt it was acceptable to finalize.
> 
> Thank you for staying patient while I continue working on this story. As always, please feel free to leave me your feedback. Until next chapter!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the slow burn is killing some readers, and I can sympathize. I, too, enjoy stories in which these two are together with no barriers between them. They have to remove these barriers first though, and that's what this story is all about exploring. Okay, onward to the next chapter.

_The feel of the sword was still familiar, but his neglect for the weapon brought himself great shame. Still, if he truly was to move past the guilt that had been crushing him, then honoring the memories that the sword brought should be the next logical step._

_Having just been cured of Geostigma the day before, and having assured the spirits of his dearly departed friends that he was indeed all right now and no longer felt alone, Cloud knew he had to follow through on his words. As he took a moment to stare at the Buster Sword that he had just pulled from the ground after having left it there for who-knows-how-long—at the same spot where Zack had perished—he gave his friend a smile through the weapon._

_"No more lamenting," he said to both himself and the sword. "It's time to make things right."_

_He spent the next hour cleaning and polishing the sword, giving it the same care that he had once shown the blade when it was his primary weapon. He did not stop until every speckle of dirt and rust was removed and the blade looked almost new again. He sheathed it on his back for the first time in years, silently made a vow that he would indeed continue carrying on his friend's legacy, boarded Fenrir, and drove off in the direction of Midgar._

_Unlike twenty-four hours ago, when he and the town's infected children were cured and celebrations erupted, the Sector 5 church was now entirely silent. The only noise that remained was the slight sloshing of the healing waters, the same waters she had brought that he knew he would forever be grateful toward. They did more than just rid him of a terminal illness; they also provided him with the first step in reenergizing his commitment to live on for those he cared the most about._

_He made his way around the pond to the front of the church, where her flowers still dotted all over. He pulled the sword off his back and found a slit within a slab, then inserted the blade into it. As he started backing away, a gentle ray of light shined through the broken ceiling, perfectly illuminating the sword. It was almost as if the church had expected him to bring the sword there, and he certainly would not be surprised if that was the case given what she had already shown she was capable of._

_"Thank you," he said, hoping his departed friends could hear him, "both of you, for everything."_

_He gave himself a moment to close his eyes and smile at what he had just done._

_"I'm not alone, not anymore," he repeated to reassure them, then opened his eyes to give the sword one more look. "Now, neither are you."_

* * *

"No more lamenting," Cloud said to himself, reusing the same three words that he had said on the day after he was cured. "No more delays."

He knew he would have to face this moment. He had put it off long enough. He wanted to wait until he felt he was fully ready, but he realized that he never would be. With his deliveries on his second day bringing him here, and with his schedule now giving him a decent enough respite, he decided that he was done dragging this on.

Steadying his heart rate, Cloud drove Fenrir into Gongaga. Sadly, the town looked exactly the same as it did when he first visited two years ago, still neglected by outsiders who focused more on fulfilling their own needs first. Cloud knew that he was partially here for his own needs as well, seeing as how his guilty conscience would never fully be cleared without this vital step, but he could sincerely declare that he was truly doing this for them.

He still did not know what he would or could say. Sure, it may not have been his fault that his memory was scrambled when he last visited, but now that his mind was free and he remembered exactly what he had told them last time—that he had never heard of their son—what could he possibly say this time that would convince them of his honesty? How could he possibly tell them the truth without them thinking that he had betrayed their son by taking his identity and forgetting him completely? He was still struggling to trust himself, and now he was pleading for a chance that they could trust him after he had outright lied to their faces?

He finished his delivery first, providing him additional time to think. He dropped in a question about the Fairs during his brief exchange with the package recipient, and the gentleman confirmed that they were indeed still living in the same building.

"We in Gongaga can't go anywhere," the man informed. "We don't have the means to move."

That only made Cloud feel worse, and now he was not so certain that the additional time to think did him any good at all. When he finally arrived in front of the Fairs' residence, he could feel every nerve tissue in his body vibrating nonstop.

Cloud took a deep breath, reached up to the door, and gave it three loud but gentle knocks. He continued to inhale deeply while the next few seconds dragged on like hours, unwilling to show him any mercy. He tried to steel himself as best as he could when the knob turned and the door finally opened, revealing the aging face of a woman.

"Cloud Strife?" she asked, instantly recognizing him.

"Yeah, it's me," Cloud confirmed as calmly as possible. He wondered if she could see him shaking as badly as he felt he was.

"It's good to see you again," she smiled at him. "Please, come in."

Cloud exhaled. The simple fact that she had not slammed the door in his face was a minor victory in his book. It did not help relax him too much, but it was a start.

"Thank you," he responded, taking his first step into the Fairs' home. "It's nice to see you again, too."

* * *

Tifa was fortunate that the weekend was bringing her usual rush of customers. Busying herself with her normal bar routines during a steady stream of patrons had always helped create distractions that she needed to take her mind off any troubling thoughts refusing to leave her alone. Thanks to Marlene and Denzel's help, the noon wave came and went without a hitch.

It was early afternoon when the bar was empty once again. Marlene and Denzel had just asked for permission to play outside, and Tifa was about to grant them permission when the citywide emergency alarm suddenly began blaring. Instantly, Tifa turned on the radio, catching a report that had already started.

"…declared in the Midgar-Edge area. Repeat: a state of emergency has been declared in the Midgar-Edge area," came the announcement. "Early reports indicate that it's a zolom monster approaching Edge from the south. Repeat: a zolom monster is approaching Edge from the south. Residents are instructed to stay indoors, underground if possible."

"Marlene, Denzel," Tifa commanded. "Go hide. Now."

The children needed no further instructions, taking off toward the secret basement. Tifa ran to her bedroom and put on her combat gear, slotting herself with restore, poison, double cut, and counterattack materia. Her phone rang the moment she finished gearing up.

"Reeve," Tifa answered without even checking, confident about the caller. "Where is it?"

"Tifa," Reeve spoke from the other side. "It's approaching the spot where Midgar's and Edge's border is."

"I'm on it," she assured and hung up, knowing the time for talk could wait.

Tifa ran out, locked up Seventh Heaven, and sprinted southwest toward the location Reeve gave her. Off in the distance, the tiny figure of the zolom gradually began looming larger, and as Tifa approached, screams could be heard from numerous people still outside, some of whom she assumed had never seen the sheer size and scale of a zolom before.

The alarm continued to ring throughout Edge. Tifa leaped up onto a low roof and looked around, catching a glimpse of a few red berets heading toward her position. She did not know what the WRO troops had been ordered to do, but since she was not part of their brigade, she decided to take charge of the situation herself and deter the zolom before it arrived in the city.

She rushed towards the beast, hoping to catch its attention. When the monster continued to lunge forward after she stepped slightly to the side to see if it would notice her, Tifa activated her poison materia and hit it with a bio3 attack. The spell landed and, much to Tifa's delight, immediately inflicted the creature with poison, beginning the process of slowly draining its health.

Partially in pain from the damage-over-time spell and now distracted, the zolom turned its attention to Tifa. Instantly, she leaped ninety degrees left to hold its focus, then took another ninety-degree leap left to turn it away from the city. Tifa backed away slowly, hoping the monster would try to strike at her as she did so. When her hopes were answered, she jumped up and struck it with a flurry of punches directly under its chin before it could reach her with its jaw to bite her. The double cut materia kicked in the moment she threw her final punch, and she experienced instant déjà vu as her airborne blows mercilessly pummeled the beast for a second time.

Two WRO troops had reached the beast by now, and upon taking note of her actions, they fired from the monster's sides so as not to hit her. However, they mistakenly stood too close to the creature, and their timing could not have been more imperfect; the attacks that the beast endured had brought its rage sky high, and it started swinging its massive tail uncontrollably. Unfamiliar with timing their leaps to avoid the swipes, the two unfortunate souls were violently struck and sent flying in opposite directions, forced completely from the battle. Seeing this, the other handful of WRO soldiers decided to stand back and attack from farther away, but they found minimum success doing so with the increase in range weakening the effectiveness and accuracy of their attacks; their firearms only managed to hit the zolom's lower back side and tail if they were lucky.

Quickly noticing that she had found herself primarily alone in this fight and that none of the WRO soldiers had drawn the zolom's attention off her, Tifa continued to move backwards every few seconds, gradually guiding the beast away from the city. It tried several times to strike at her with its bite, even switching up its rhythm to throw her off balance, but she successfully evaded its attempts each time. The creature roared in a frustration that only exacerbated itself when Tifa delivered another two waves of kicks and punches directly to its upper underside and head, all the while watching as the poison continued to languidly tick the zolom's health down.

Now infuriated past the point of rage, the giant beast began glowing red, preparing itself to launch its beta attack. Tifa took a quick scan of her surroundings and noticed that, aside from herself, everyone and everything else was now quite a distance away, exactly as she had hoped. The average citizens of Edge would not stay afloat if hit by the zolom's beta, and she was uncertain about the WRO troops, but having had enough combat experience from her time traveling and her recent endeavors, Tifa was fully prepared to bear the brunt of its most powerful move.

Flames roared out of the beast in all directions, scorching both the land and the air around its immediate vicinity in a ball of fire. Tifa stood still, absorbing the scorching heat of the powerful beta, knowing that she could not have escaped its radius even if she tried. The attack lasted for quite some time, but she endured every second, mentally convincing herself that there was no pain even as the fire scarred her body.

The moment beta ended, her counterattack materia kicked in, and she pounced on the beast for a few hooks and jabs before quickly activating her restore materia and instantly healing herself of all the damage beta did. The zolom lunged at her one more time, desperately trying to strike her down with its bite, but failed yet again. With the monster now fully weakened, Tifa decided the time had come to deliver the final blow. Beta had done its job, activating her limit break, and she launched herself forward to strike the beast with her beat rush, somersault, water kick, and dolphin blow in such quick succession that the zolom had fallen unconscious before it could even consider countering.

Tifa gathered herself slowly once the battle was over, using her restore materia a second time to make sure that any wounds still remaining were fully healed. A minute later, a WRO vehicle arrived on the scene, and her phone was ringing again.

"Tifa, the soldiers just reported to me that you took care of the zolom," came Reeve's voice. "Were you alone?"

"For the most part, yes," Tifa answered. "They did help though."

"Incredible," Reeve commented. "Go ahead and head home once you're rested. I'm sending out more vehicles to transport the body back to the swamp. The WRO will collect whatever evidence we can to find out why the beast got anywhere near Edge."

"Thanks, Reeve," Tifa said.

"No, thank you, Tifa," Reeve replied before they both hung up.

Slowly, Tifa made her way back to Seventh Heaven, mentally running through a list of questions about yet another near miss on Edge from another creature that should not have appeared so close to the city. She could not say that she was surprised, since full answers had yet to come from the previous incident involving the elfadunk stampede. Cloud had also informed her on more than one occasion of the increase in aggressiveness from the monsters he encountered during his deliveries. However, she did wonder how a zolom that only lived in swampy environments could make its way out of its natural habitat and even across some rather rugged geography. Although she understood that the WRO was doing its best with the resources it had to find the answers everyone was seeking, it did not sit well with her that the people of Edge may have to put up with these kinds of attacks for the foreseeable future, infrequent as they may be at this time. She did not know exactly what this would mean for the planet, but it certainly was not helping its healing process.

It would not be until she finally made it back to Seventh Heaven that Tifa discovered just how exhausted she was, and it would not be until she had a chance to catch her breath at home that she realized she had just taken down a gigantic zolom monster all by herself. For the first time that day, Tifa allowed herself to smile.

* * *

The meeting with the Fairs went as well as it could have. Cloud had apologized to them for what he said during his last visit and explained the entire story in as much detail as he could recall. He made sure to highlight what his memories had recovered about Zack's heroism, courage, determination, and ultimate sacrifice. He told them about the guilt he felt afterward, how he bemoaned his inability to protect Zack from both death and having his legacy tainted, and how he tried to do what was right by moving the Buster Sword to the Sector 5 church to finally honor both Zack and Aerith.

Cloud did not know how to feel—or how he was supposed to feel—whenever the Fairs reassured him that he did nothing wrong and that he should not feel responsible for anything that happened to him as a result of Shinra's experimentations. They were reassurances that he had heard hundreds of times before—primarily from AVALANCHE members and especially from Tifa—and he knew it should have meant something significant for the Fairs to share in their sentiment, but he still could not figure out what was the right way to respond to their words. He could only hope that profusely thanking them for what they said was proper enough, even as he was convinced that he should have responded differently.

At the very least though, he had taken the right step, and he could rest slightly easier knowing this.

Cloud had just hopped onto Fenrir when his phone rang. He checked the number and answered it.

"Reeve, what's up?" he acknowledged.

"Cloud, bad news and good news," Reeve said. "There was a near attack on Edge today by a zolom monster, but Tifa beat it back all by herself."

That stunned Cloud. It was not that he did not believe Tifa was capable, but to hear that she actually accomplished such a feat was still incredible. Suddenly, Cloud felt his heart swell up with pride, although he remained calm while speaking with Reeve.

"That's great to hear," he replied. "Did you say a zolom though?"

"Yes," Reeve confirmed.

"That's concerning," Cloud remarked. "What was a zolom doing out of the swamp?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Reeve answered. "The WRO is on it. Between you and me, I suspect there is a connection between this and the elfadunk attack, but we'll see once we've analyzed the evidence we're collecting."

"Okay, thanks for the update, Reeve," Cloud said.

"My pleasure," Reeve responded. "You take care out there."

The call disconnected, and Cloud sensed himself smiling. Even with all the experience that they had gained from their battles two years ago, zolom monsters were still no joke, and for Tifa to have taken one down solo was something he found himself wanting to boast about to the world. The longer he thought, the more his chest heaved forward with a sense of fulfillment at her accomplishment.

The Cloud Strife who rode into Gongaga that day had been a nervous wreck. The Cloud Strife who exited from the Fairs' home minutes ago was still uncertain and confused. Now, after learning of Tifa's victory, the Cloud Strife who rode out of Gongaga felt larger than life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As far as I know, at the time I'm writing this, there is no exact date for when Cloud moved the Buster Sword to Aerith's church, so I'm working it in as something he did immediately after he was healed. Quite frankly, I can see him doing it at any time afterward, because he has his reasons for doing it quickly or after a while.
> 
> Okay, fourteen chapters down. As always, your feedback is greatly welcomed. See you next chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do hope the story isn't moving too slowly for you. I'm always concerned that my frequent tendency to write details bogs a story down too much. Do let me know if that's how you're feeling; I'm always open to your feedback. Now here's Chapter 15.

The nightmare that had plagued her the previous evening was long gone by the time Tifa had awakened the next morning. For the first time in quite a while, she had slept through an entire night without a single dream and did not depend on her alarm clock to force her back into her conscious state. The amount of energy she possessed within seemed to exceed that of her regular mornings, and before she knew it, she was already suitably dressed, preparing to head downstairs to give her punching bag the beating of a lifetime.

It was not a mystery as to why she felt so refreshed. Almost single-handedly defeating a zolom had given her a jolt of satisfaction that she had not experienced in quite some time. However, the real kicker came later that evening when Cloud called her from the western continent to sing her praises.

The call lasted a whopping fifteen minutes, which was beyond lengthy for Cloud, whose calls normally took no more than a minute or two and basically consisted of little more than updating her on his status. She had no visual cues, and his voice still spoke in the same relatively neutral pitch, but Tifa could feel his pride beaming through the phone while he showered her with compliments; heck, there were even a few times when he repeated praises throughout the conversation. While she was certain that some people may think of such excessiveness as irritating, Tifa did not mind one bit; in fact, she found it to be rather charming in a way that was uniquely Cloud.

As far back as she could remember, Tifa had always placed a greater value on compliments from Cloud than from any other person. It was another part of her inner emotions that she had never revealed to anyone—not her parents, her childhood friends, AVALANCHE, nor the children. She still did not fully understand why, but she figured it was likely because he always seemed so reserved that when he did remark favorably on something about her, she could hear the genuineness in his voice. Even during their travels, when his personality was not completely his own, he never lost that sincerity any time he threw a compliment or two her way, and this wound up playing a significant part in convincing her that he truly was the real Cloud in the midst of all the doubts that swarmed around them.

His compliments always gave her a sense of empowerment; after all, they were what she drew from to make one of the most important decisions in her life.

* * *

_"Hey, Cloud?" thirteen-year-old Tifa spoke. "Do you think you'll be able to see the same stars in Midgar?"_

_There was a brief pause. Tifa looked over at her neighbor, whose face showed that he was deep in thought._

_"I…I don't know," Cloud answered. "I hope so."_

_"Hmm," was all Tifa could say in response._

_The two were sitting in Tifa's yard observing the night sky. They had started chatting moments ago when they saw each other over the fence, and Tifa was quick to invite Cloud to her side. The seasonal change from winter to spring was well under way, and with Cloud soon leaving for Midgar, Tifa was eager to spend as much time with him as she could._

_However, despite growing closer since their meeting atop the water tower, their conversations remained sporadic. Much of the time was spent thinking of the right words rather than saying what was on their minds. Tifa wished Cloud would open up more to her, but she understood that it would be hypocritical to expect him to do so when she remained reserved with her own uncertain, developing feelings._

_"Everything okay?" he asked her with a mixture of both concern and hesitancy. "You know, with the last monster attack and all…"_

_That was another worry Nibelheim did not need: while they were infrequent, there had been a few monster attacks spread throughout the past year. In a usually quiet town, the residents were easily disturbed when anything out of the ordinary started happening, even if the events seemed to be random and unconnected. The latest attack had occurred just days ago, and while the group of kyuvilduns did no damage to the town, their mere presence was enough to send some of the townsfolk into a state of alarm._

_"Yeah," Tifa replied. "I'm…we're fine."_

_Another moment of silence passed before Cloud spoke up again._

_"You know, I'm leaving so I can train to be stronger," he said. "I'll remember our promise, but if these attacks happen again while I'm gone, I want you to be able to protect yourself."_

_Tifa gave him a look of confusion._

_"I think you'd make a great fighter, Tifa," Cloud explained before she could ask. "You're always so energetic and spirited."_

_Those were not any words that Tifa expected to come from her still-mysterious neighbor. She never remembered hearing him praise anyone other than his own mother, and his reputation in the last few years as the child who kept getting into fights certainly made such praise directed her way even more unanticipated. Outside, she smiled at him for saying such words, but inside, she did not know if her teenage mind should be stunned or flattered._

_"Thank you, Cloud," she responded. "I'll think about it."_

* * *

This was not a delivery that Cloud wanted to make. When he first took the call and wrote down the address, there was a brief moment of speechlessness that left his customer confused over his sudden silence. He still was not certain about why exactly he decided to accept the job, but he committed, and turning back now was no longer an option.

Cloud sat still atop Fenrir and simply stared ahead at the familiar but unwelcoming sight: the gates of Nibelheim. He knew it was inevitable that he would have to return at some point in his life, even if he hoped that the moment would never come, but why did it have to be now? Why did it have to be when he still felt unready for it all?

A flood of memories passed through his brain seemingly all at once: his childhood, the day the town burned, vague images of Zack dragging him away, the Sephiroth clones, and the chilling feeling he experienced when he set foot in town after Meteor. He tried to find a silver lining to his present visit, and he thought about how thankful he was that at least he did not return while he was still battling against Geostigma and a guilty conscience; had that happened, just the sight of the gates alone would have been the mental death of him.

Cloud did not know what was more nerve-racking: the day before when he was anticipating his meeting with the Fairs or the present moment when he was about to re-enter the fake replica of a hometown that had long disappeared from existence. In the end, he decided that it did not matter; they were both events that he needed to get through so that he could at least put something behind him. What that something was remained mysterious and befuddling.

The moment Fenrir crossed the gates, Cloud wanted to turn around, gun his engine, and drive far away in the direction where he came from. Without any prompting, his mind was already creating excuses that he could give his customer for the missed delivery: a monster attack, bad weather, that it was a Sunday and they should not be expecting any packages anyway, etc. A part of him even had the wicked thought of destroying the package and upsetting the customer; surely such a move was better than having to face being back in Nibelheim, right?

As if to add insult to injury, crossing back into his hometown was not even the worst part of this delivery. Cloud stopped Fenrir once he had reached his destination, and, without looking up, re-checked the package to confirm the address for what seemed to be the millionth time, still holding out hope that there had been some sort of mistake. Unfortunately, it was the correct address, and as he took a deep breath, he finally worked up just enough courage to lift his eyes away from the box and visually greet the sight of his replicated childhood home glancing back at him.

He felt mocked. He felt as though whatever the planet or the spirits had against him had been forged into this form of torment. A familiar but unwelcoming feeling of guilt started creeping back into his consciousness, and he would be the first to admit that he deserved it even as he was mentally fighting to counter it. After all, how else could it be explained that, out of all possibilities, he would be asked to deliver a package to the address that he called home for the first fifteen years of his life?

He had no idea how long he wound up simply frozen in place, neither willing nor able to move any closer to the building. For a moment, he actually wished that he had his mako-poisoned personality back; at the very least, when he was under the impression that he had made SOLDIER, he was gutsy enough to simply walk up to the building without much hesitation. Now he felt like a coward who could not even perform his lone job of delivering a mere package due to a ridiculous sense of discomfort.

Finally, after what seemed like eons, Cloud found sufficient resolve to start crawling his way forward toward the front door. With every step he took, he had to consciously remind himself that this was only a delivery, that it was no different from what he had now done countless times before. However, every repetition of such a reminder made him feel even more worthless for needing such redundant reassurances in the first place.

Feelings similar to those from the day before resurfaced once he reached the door, knocked on it, and watched the handle turn. This time, instead of Mrs. Fair, a semi-familiar but entirely anonymous face greeted him from the other side, and Cloud instantly recognized it as the same woman who accused him of being a liar two years ago.

"Cloud Strife?" she acknowledged.

"Yes," Cloud replied, trying his best to keep his voice normal. "I have your package."

"Right," she said in response.

There was silence as she accepted her delivery and signed for it. Cloud could not help himself but to take a brief peek inside, noticing that nothing had changed.

"You used to live here, didn't you?" she asked, and he was immediately taken aback by her question.

"Y…yes…" he answered. "How did you know?"

"After Meteor, I found out it was you and your team who defeated Sephiroth," she informed. "With Shinra gone, I wasn't being paid to cover up what happened anymore, so I did some research and discovered records of a Claudia Strife once residing at this address."

"Oh," Cloud responded, not knowing what else he could say.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you," she acknowledged. "Do you want to come in and have a look at the old place?"

"No, I'm good," Cloud declined. "I've still got more deliveries to make."

It was not a lie, but it was not the whole truth either.

"Okay then, thanks for the package," she said. "If you change your mind, you're welcomed back at any time."

The two said their partings, and she closed the door. Cloud turned around and walked back to Fenrir, washed over by both a sense of relief and a continued discomfort that would not let go. While a part of him did want to set foot inside his childhood home again, he knew it would never be right to do so, regardless of whether or not he was able to put any feelings of unease behind him. It was not so much because the place now belonged to someone else, even if the current resident obtained it through illegitimate means. Instead, it was primarily the fact that the house technically would forever be a replica and not his actual childhood home, and for Cloud, that alone would always connect his memory to Nibelheim's most haunting day every time he envisioned the present version of the town.

Lifting his head to look at the water tower, Cloud was hit with another reminder that this disheartening dread for what Nibelheim had now become would not be so easy to change.

* * *

_"Hey, Tifa?" Cloud said. "Do you want to climb back up there?"_

_She looked in his direction and flashed him a slight smile at his suggestion._

_"Yeah," she agreed with a soft sigh. "I'd like that."_

_The friends with whom they had journeyed together separated only a few days ago. Once they had paid their respects to Aerith at the Forgotten City, Vincent, Yuffie, Nanaki, and Cait Sith had all departed for various destinations, leaving just Barret, Tifa, and himself (not counting Cid, who was only staying to pilot them around on the_ Highwind _). The three of them had stopped at Corel Village a day ago, but they instantly regretted their decision to do so as Barret was aptly reminded of his past sins. Now in Nibelheim, it was Tifa's and Cloud's turn to feel the chilling haunt that Barret had experienced the day before, leaving them to question why they had thought visiting their childhood home would be different from Barret's experience in his hometown._

_Cloud and Tifa reached the top and sat at the same spots as they once did on that one evening that now felt as though it was a lifetime ago. At present, the last rays of the sun's light had faded beyond the horizon, and the clear night sky bathed the town in a familiar starry glow._

_Cloud sighed, glancing over toward Tifa and reading her expression._

_"You don't feel it, do you?" he asked, knowing that she understood exactly what he was implying._

_"No, unfortunately," she answered, shaking her head._

_It was one last ditch attempt to recapture a feeling of home, a hope that they had held onto since they decided they would come to Nibelheim after the group split up. For quite a while after their arrival, they tried to bring that feeling back by walking around town and speaking with a few of the people they encountered in public who were willing to talk, but nothing worked. The familiarity was gone; not only were the people complete strangers who had been artificially implanted in Nibelheim, but the mere presence of the replicated town only brought back painful memories of its destruction and the subsequent trauma it had caused that they would likely never shake off._

_Despite all their failures throughout the day, they still hoped that sitting atop the water tower and staring at the heavens would revive something much more cheerful in their collective nostalgia. Yet even the memory of what could be considered their most valuable moment with each other was not enough to trigger any positive sentiments that could convince them to think of Nibelheim as home again._

_Cloud placed his hand atop Tifa's and gave her the gentlest smile he could muster at that moment._

_"Don't worry, Tifa," he tried to assure her. "We'll find a home somewhere."_

* * *

Cloud's compliments from the previous evening may have been empowering, but Tifa had never been someone who particularly enjoyed being showered with praise from a large number of people. It was true when she was just a child, uncertain of how to respond to the townsfolk who kept declaring that she was the most adorable girl in the village. It was true during her tenure with AVALANCHE, which was why she often tried to stay in the background while the others took on more overtly active responsibilities. Although she understood that it was a good problem to have, since it indicated that she had done something right, her emotionally shy personality made it difficult for her to absorb the sheer quantity of praise that sometimes came her way.

Today had been one of those days. News of her fending off the zolom attack mostly by herself had spread throughout Edge, earning her an influx of patrons—old and new, frequent and rare—who had seemingly chosen to visit Seventh Heaven on this day simply to aggrandize her. It was flattering, but it quickly became rather uncomfortable to hear practically every guest walk through the bar doors and bring up the event as though they were the first to label her a hero.

Still, Tifa was professional enough to handle the repetitiveness in ways that satisfied her patrons, making sure that she sent all of them off with an understanding of her appreciation for their words of kindness. She was certain that someone who thrived off compliments could have done better in response, but she could sleep well knowing that any discomfort she had been feeling remained covert from her guests.

As she entered the children's room to check on them, she was surprised to see Denzel with his eyes still open.

"Denzel?" she asked, grabbing his attention. "Why are you still awake? You have school tomorrow."

Denzel gave her a puzzled look as if he did not expect to be discovered.

"Oh, it's nothing," he answered. "I'm just thinking."

Tifa approached his bed and crouched down to meet him at eye level.

"What's on your mind?" she questioned.

There was a brief moment of silence. From reading his expression, Tifa sensed that Denzel was fumbling over how to say what he wanted.

"Tifa," he spoke, "why do heroes sometimes feel unhappy?"

Those words did not sound like the ones he meant to say, and it was now Tifa's turn to show a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?" she sought clarification.

Another pause ensued. More deep thoughts seemed to pass through the boy's face.

"Well…" he started before stopping for a few seconds again, almost as if he could not figure out what the right words were. "I mean, today, people were calling you a hero, but you didn't seem to enjoy it."

Tifa looked surprised for a moment. Was she that readable, or was it because Denzel was too familiar with her? If it was the former, did that mean some of her patrons could sense her unease as well?

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Marlene and I both could tell," Denzel explained. "You starting looking less and less happy with everyone calling you a hero."

Tifa could do nothing but give Denzel a soft smile while she contemplated how to respond to his revelation. Before she could finish her thoughts though, he spoke again.

"We understand, Tifa," he said. "We were getting tired of hearing the same thing too, and you were still super nice to everyone."

That was a relief, partially because Tifa no longer had to formulate a response, but also because she now had confirmation that her guests likely did not pick up what the children did.

"Nothing gets past the two of you, hmm?" she remarked, causing Denzel to smile back at her. "Don't worry too much about it. I did appreciate what many of them said. Now get some sleep so you won't be tired for school in the morning."

"I will," he assured. "Good night, Tifa."

"Good night, Denzel," she replied.

She got up and was about to exit when Denzel's voice stopped her at the door.

"And Tifa?" he said. "Just so you know, Cloud's not my only hero. You are too."

Tifa felt a slight sparkle in her eyes as she gently grinned back at Denzel.

"Thank you, Denzel," she responded. "That means a lot to me."

It was a sincere response, and it helped to dispel much of the discomfort that had been accumulated throughout the day from her patrons' overpraising. Denzel's full admiration was far more meaningful to Tifa than being inundated with nonstop admiration from the rest of the town.

Still though, Tifa sensed that something more than just the day's events was keeping Denzel up. If so, she hoped that he would let her know sooner rather than later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there hasn't been a lot of direct interaction between Cloud and Tifa for a few chapters, but worry not; they'll be back within close physical proximity of each other soon enough. I want to continue exploring some of their individual inner psyches before bringing them back together.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Feel free to share them with me. See you next chapter!


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